04-03-2025
Florida Woman Arrested After Being Accused of Throwing Coffee at Airport Staffer Calls Her a 'Liar': 'The Coffee Fell'
The woman who was arrested at Miami International Airport after she and her fiancé allegedly attempted to force their way onto a flight — and later, were accused of throwing coffee at one of the airport staffers during the scuffle — is speaking out in self-defense.
In an interview on Tuesday, March 4, with CBS News Miami after her release from jail, the woman, Beatriz Rapoport De Campos Maia, said, "Nobody threw coffee. The coffee fell."
"The lady who said I threw it was a liar. It just dropped on the floor," she added of the incident, which occurred the morning of Sunday, March 2.
"I am not crazy. We would not throw coffee. Coffee, I drink," De Campos Maia's fiancé, Rafael Seirafe-Novaes, told CBS News Miami after their release.
PEOPLE reached out to Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office and Miami International Airport for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The couple reportedly ran late for their flight to Cancún when they allegedly attempted to force themselves through security to get onto the aircraft, the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office said in a statement to PEOPLE on Monday, March 3.
In a clip shared to social media, at least five officers appear to attempt to restrain Seirafe-Novaes. One of the two suspects was accused of throwing coffee at one of the airport staffers during the scuffle, a representative from the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office told PEOPLE.
The incident concluded with Seirafe-Novaes being escorted in handcuffs to a police car on the tarmac, as seen in the video footage shared.
De Campos Maia and Seirafe-Novaes were both charged with two counts of battery and trespassing on property after warning, according to their booking reports. Seirafe-Novaes received an added charge of resisting arrest.
The American Airlines Flight 2494 to Mexico was delayed as a result of the incident. It was scheduled to depart Miami at 9:01 a.m. ET and arrive in Cancún at 10:56 a.m. ET, but ultimately departed at 9:10 a.m. ET and arrived at 11:22 a.m. ET.
'Prior to boarding American Airlines flight 2494 from Miami (MIA) to Cancun (CUN), law enforcement responded to the gate for two disruptive customers,' a spokesperson for the airline told PEOPLE in a statement on Tuesday.
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'Acts of violence are not tolerated by American Airlines and we are committed to working closely with law enforcement in their investigation," the statement added.
Committing acts of intentional violence in an international airport is a federal crime, per the U.S. Department of Justice, punishable with a fine of up to $250,000 and 20 years in prison.
PEOPLE also reached out to American Airlines for comment on the couple's post-release statements, but they did not immediately respond.
Read the original article on People
