Would-be flier who attacked Arizona TSA agent over apple juice gets four months in prison

An Arizona woman has been sentenced to four months in prison for attacking a TSA agent who confiscated her apple juice while going through security screening, authorities announced.

Ma’Kiah Cherae Coleman, 20, was convicted earlier this year of assaulting and injuring a federal officer at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on April 25, 2023.

The Glendale native snapped and hit the agent when they removed her juice at a security checkpoint shortly before 6 a.m., authorities said.

She then grabbed the agent’s hair, slammed their head down against a baggage screening area table and punched the victim in the head several times before she was restrained by a swarm of other TSA agents.

Two agents were taken to the hospital for treatment in the scuffle and some 450 travelers were inconvenienced as officials shut down the checkpoint to deal with the unruly traveler, according to the TSA.

She was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Douglas Rayes to four months behind bars plus 36 months of supervised release, officials announced on Wednesday.

“Coleman is banned from traveling by commercial aircraft during the three-year term of her court supervision,” the US Attorney’s Office said.