‘Criminal illegal alien’ arrested after telling United flight crew he had a bomb, Homeland Security says

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - A man was arrested after telling the flight crew on a United plane that he had a bomb.

According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Rony Gomez-Alberto, 34, started acting irrationally aboard United flight 2174 around 11:20 p.m.

Authorities said he told crew members that he had a bomb on board. The Department of Homeland Security said Gomez-Alberto is a “criminal illegal alien” and that he tried to “gain entry to the cockpit” during the flight.

There were 46 passengers and six crew members aboard the United flight from Newark, New Jersey, to New Orleans.

The plane safely landed at Louis Armstrong International Airport, and all passengers got off and were taken to the terminal.

Gomez-Alberto was arrested without incident and taken to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, where he was booked on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, deputies said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also lodged a detainer for Gomez-Alberto.

According to Homeland Security, Gomez-Alberto’s criminal history includes felony bomb threat, felony threat, terroristic state offenses and disorderly conduct.

He is from Honduras and has been removed from the country twice and was released a third time, pending removal proceedings, by a judge.