Penn State Abington sociology professor Karen Bettez Halnon was arrested over the weekend for disorderly conduct on a flight from Nicaragua to Miami, according to Miami New Times.

According to UNICA, Halnon was in Nicaragua with two students to conduct research on “mothers, singles, and catholic faith in Nicaragua.” It is unclear if the students were with her on the return flight.

Although disorderly conduct was the criminal charge, Halnan was downright unruly according to eyewitnesses and videos uploaded by passengers. The Daily Mail reported that an eyewitness claimed Halnon yelled, “Barack Obama kills people on Tuesdays.” She reportedly lamented for two hours on Venezuelan-American conflict, and said Hugo Chavez was her “great hero.” She later smoked a lit cigarette and tried to blame it on the person next to her, all of which was captured on video.

The Reddit user who captured the video below described his experience on the flight.

I definitely got nervous when she starting using the b-word (you know, the one word you aren’t supposed to use on planes). I have flown a ton in the past but this is the first time I was ever nervous on a plane.

Miami New Times reported that Halnon told police that were on hand to arrest her when the plane landed, “Fuck you, this is not a democracy!”

Her bond was set at $500, which she has since posted.

Photo courtesy of Miami New Times

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Megan Fleming

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