logo
Oh, Canada: Toronto man pleads guilty after wild airport assault on TSA agents in Miami was caught on video

Oh, Canada: Toronto man pleads guilty after wild airport assault on TSA agents in Miami was caught on video

Fox News30-05-2025

A Canadian man's layover in Florida turned into a federal case after he attacked two Transportation Security Administration officers at Miami International Airport in a chaotic outburst caught on video.
Cameron Dylan McDougall, 28, of Toronto, pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this month to two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers, according to court records.
The charges stem from a December 2024 incident that left travelers stunned and security personnel injured.TEXAS MAN 'MAD' AT TRUMP ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING FELLOW PASSENGER ON FLIGHT TO DC
The trouble began Dec. 27, when McDougall allegedly struck a fellow passenger aboard a Copa Airlines flight traveling from Panama City to Toronto.
According to reporting from Local 10 News, the midair altercation prompted the pilot to divert the flight to Miami, where McDougall was removed from the plane but not arrested.
Instead, he was told he could book another flight back to Canada. McDougall purchased a ticket on Air Canada for the following day.
But as he prepared to board that flight at MIA the morning of Dec. 28, he once again lashed out, this time in the airport.
Authorities said McDougall had already cleared the TSA checkpoint when, without provocation, he randomly struck another passenger around 6:37 a.m., according to court documents cited by WPLG Local 10.
A security guard who attempted to intervene was also assaulted. Two minutes later, McDougall returned to the screening area and targeted a TSA supervisor, swinging wildly. Though the supervisor dodged the punches, another officer who tried to restrain McDougall was hit in the face at least three times, sustaining minor injuries.
The entire encounter was recorded on airport surveillance and released to the public this week. The footage shows McDougall throwing punches, getting flipped over a screening bin cart and continuing to resist as agents struggled to restrain him.
He was subdued and arrested by officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
McDougall pleaded guilty May 19 and is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court May 30. Each federal charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
He also faces state charges, including three felony counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and one misdemeanor battery charge, according to Miami-Dade court records. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMcDougall is due back in state court June 2.TSA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Outraged Broward sheriff lashes out at state attorney for charging 3 deputies
Outraged Broward sheriff lashes out at state attorney for charging 3 deputies

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Outraged Broward sheriff lashes out at state attorney for charging 3 deputies

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony blasted the State Attorney's Office for charging three corrections deputies who are accused of battering a woman they booked into jail almost three years ago. Tony said the deputies never should have been charged, that the woman they're accused of beating attacked and injured them and he is reinstating them. 'So, we're moving forward from an internal-affairs standpoint. Our investigation has been completed. All three deputies will be reinstated to full capacity, and they've been either exonerated of these false allegations or it's been unfounded,' he said at a press briefing Friday morning. BSO Sgt. Zakiyya Polk, Deputy Cleopatra Johnnie and Deputy Denia Walker surrendered to BSO last week on aggravated-battery charges stemming from an Oct. 4, 2022, incident involving a woman being booked into jail on a charge of driving under the influence. Each faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the second-degree felony charge. Eric Schwartzreich, Polk's attorney, said she and the other 'detention deputies have not committed any crimes, or any policy violations.' 'As a criminal defense attorney that represents those that find themselves thrust into the criminal justice system, which at times includes deputies, this is the first time that the Sheriff and I have stood in solidarity and both of us agree that these deputies should not be charged with any crimes,' Schwartzreich said in an email to the Miami Herald. 'This is an important case for all of law enforcement. I applaud the Sheriff on his response and for standing up for the men and women who keep us safe.' According to the deputies' arrest warrant, the woman, 38-year-old Samantha Caputo, became argumentative when the deputies told her to remove her bra as she was changing from her personal clothes to her jail uniform. Polk pushed Caputo, and then Johnnie and Walker punched and kicked her several times, the warrant states. Walker and Polk also pepper-sprayed Caputo, and Polk shot prongs into her with her Taser stun gun, according to the warrant. After the struggle, Caputo had a hematoma under her right eye, bruises and a scar from the Taser prongs, the warrant states. The jail nurse treated her for her injuries, and she was hospitalized days later because the Taser wound became infected, according to the warrant. Tony stressed that security-camera footage shows the deputies used an appropriate amount of force in controlling Caputo. He said Caputo 'struck, scratched and bit' one of the deputies, puncturing the skin and fracturing her finger. 'The video is crystal clear that [the deputies] had demonstrated only the level of force necessary to get this individual back into compliance,' Tony said. 'Our standard is reasonable, necessary force in proportion to the threat to that which we face.' Tony struck out at Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor's office for pursuing charges against the deputies yet declining to charge in many cases against deputies and other public employees whom the sheriff's office recommends for prosecution. Referring to Polk, Johnnie and Walker as 'the select three,' Tony questioned why Pryor's office pursued them while ignoring other public-corruption leads from the sheriff's office. 'This is most certainly a miscarriage of justice and exhibits symptoms of public corruption in itself,' Tony said. Tony said that in his two terms he has taken deputy misconduct so seriously that he has fired 141 of them. He said he holds his deputies to strict standards when they use force. Pryor responded in a statement that the State Attorney's Office charged the deputies almost three years after the incident because prosecutors didn't begin looking at the case until Caputo's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss a charge of battery on a law-enforcement officer. Public Corruption Unit prosecutors then viewed the security-camera footage and decided to charge the deputies, Pryor said. They also dropped the battery charge against Caputo, according to court documents. 'All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty. At no time were the detention deputies placed in front of the national media in handcuffs, they were allowed to surrender to the jail at a time that was arranged with their defense attorneys in advance, and they were released from the jail on agreed bonds of $7,500 without going through magistrate court,' Pryor said. Tony said he was outraged the charge against Caputo was dropped. 'You don't get a free pass to strike, injure or harm any of my God damn deputies in this agency,' he said. 'None of them!' Walker's attorney, Jeremy Kroll, told the Herald that he is thankful to Tony for sticking up for the deputies, and that his client is innocent. 'For 10 years, Deputy Walker has been a faithful and honest public servant. We are grateful to the Broward Sheriff's Office for their intellectual honesty in assessing her involvement in the use of force and for clearing her and putting her back to work,' Kroll said. 'We look forward to defending her case in court, and believe there is no legal or factual merit to the charge against her.' Information about Johnnie's legal representation was not immediately available. All three deputies were released from jail on May 29, the same day they surrendered. Tony brought up the case of former Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Ronald Thurston and other examples of what he said were mishandled cases by Pryor's office. READ MORE: Broward school security specialist is accused of abusing student Thurston was fired for excessive force in 2022. The sheriff's office recommended the State Attorney's Office charge him with battery the previous year, but prosecutors declined. He was arrested three years later on charges of aggravated child abuse and aggravated battery after being hired by Broward County Public Schools to work security at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach. Pryor defended his office's handling of both cases against Thurston. 'Thurston was criminally charged in February of this year on an unrelated matter and is currently facing criminal prosecution by our agency,' Pryor said. 'As with all cases, we will file criminal charges when we have facts and evidence to support them.' This story has been updated to reflect that the deputies surrendered to the Broward Sheriff's Office and were not arrested by the State Attorney's Office, which charged them.

Florida Republican foresees Trump-Musk reconciliation
Florida Republican foresees Trump-Musk reconciliation

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Florida Republican foresees Trump-Musk reconciliation

Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.) said President Trump and Elon Musk's feud wouldn't last for long, noting that the Republican Party and the president's allies are all a part of 'one big family.' Musk in recent days has criticized the president's budget bill over its effects on the national debt, which the tech billionaire says 'undermines' the work he completed at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The fight reached a fever pitch this week, with the two exchanging harsh words on social media. But as the spat continues, Patronis said he believes the two will soon reconcile. 'I don't know how many times I've seen Donald Trump throw [Sen.] Lindsey Graham [(R-S.C.)] out by the side of the street and say the guy's crazy. But then you know what? The next week they're playing golf together. This is no different,' Patronis said during a Friday appearance on NewsNation's 'The Hill,' referencing the president's sometimes fraught relationship with the South Carolina lawmaker. 'Trump knows that sometimes you're going to have falling out with those that you trust, you like, that you're friends with. It happens with us in D.C. all the time. So again. Mark my words. About a month from now, these guys will be hanging around again,' he added. The Florida lawmaker also poured cold water on Musk's recent proposal to launch a third party to challenge. 'Elon Musk is not gonna create a new new political party,' he told NewsNation. On Friday, Musk floated 'The America Party' as a potential new political faction after posting a poll for his followers to weigh in on the social media platform X the day prior. 'I appreciate what Elon Musk has done with DOGE. He's brought things to light that we're going to act upon in Congress. But the end of the day, the only friends I look at making in Washington DC [are] probably my wife and my kids,' Patronis said. 'The friends I care about are the ones in Congressional District 1 … and they elected Donald Trump,' he added. 'They did not elect Elon Musk.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Early DOGE Adviser Says Musk's Behavior Is ‘Disturbing'
Early DOGE Adviser Says Musk's Behavior Is ‘Disturbing'

Wall Street Journal

time2 hours ago

  • Wall Street Journal

Early DOGE Adviser Says Musk's Behavior Is ‘Disturbing'

A Florida investment manager who advocated for 'DOGE dividend checks' says Elon Musk should apologize to President Trump following their public feud. James Fishback, an early adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency who ultimately didn't join the DOGE team, said he was proud of his plan to provide $5,000 checks to Americans funded in part by the savings uncovered by DOGE. But he criticized Musk's 'baseless attacks' against Trump and called the Tesla and SpaceX leader's behavior 'downright disturbing.' Fishback said a DOGE dividend bill pushed by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R., Fla.) has been put on hold until further notice given the hurdles surrounding the president's tax-and-spending plan, which Musk called a 'disgusting abomination.' Fishback's comments were first reported by Politico.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store