Rosa Parks is one of the most recognizable civil rights movement figures after she bravely refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus to a white man in 1955. Recently a white woman channeled her inner-Ms. Parks when she refused to sit down on a Delta Air Lines flight.
Former actress Patricia Cornwall, now dubbed “Delta Karen,” was arrested the day before Christmas Eve, after getting involved in an altercation with an older white gentleman as she was making her way back to her seat on a flight from Tampa to Atlanta, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Daily Mail.
The former Playboy model reportedly asked a flight attendant for assistance to get back to her seat because the beverage cart was blocking her seat. However, she was told to take any empty chair until the refreshment portion of the flight concluded. Seemingly unhappy with the option, Cornwall allegedly asked, “What am I, Rosa Parks?”
A nearby passenger, later identified as Russell Miller, overheard Cornwall’s remarks and reportedly told her that “‘it was an inappropriate comment … and that she ‘isn’t black….this isn’t Alabama, and this isn’t a bus,” records showed. He also allegedly told her to “Sit down, Karen” The man called Cornwall a rude name and when he admitted it, a verbal back and forth soon ensued before Cornwall was spotted punching, scratching, and spitting at the 80-year-old man in a now-viral video clip.
The former Los Angeles Raider cheerleader, who has a criminal history, was arrested at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by Atlanta police and taken into custody by the FBI. She is currently out on a $20,000 bond and has since been placed on Delta’s no-fly list. In addition, she cannot travel by any interstate commercial carrier — plane, bus, or train — while out on bond.
Earlier this week, Cornwall appeared in federal court in Atlanta, where she was accused of “assault by striking, beating, or wounding R.S.M. in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States,” the documents stated.
The former actress was not required to, nor did she enter in a plea for her class A misdemeanor charge. According to the outlet, she could face up to one year in prison and up to a $100,00 fine if she is convicted.
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