Mother Mary MacCarthy traveled via Southwest Airlines with her daughter, Moiora, 10, last October 22, and was accused of human trafficking.
Their flight heading to Denver was connected to San Jose. They were on their way to Denver for the funeral of MacCarthy’s brother, KRON4 reported.
“Southwest Airlines called into Denver police at Denver airport a suspicion of human trafficking involving my daughter and myself as passengers,” she said.
The two were held on the jetway by a couple of uniformed police officers and the airline’s gate agent as they got off the plane in Denver.
MacCarthy managed to record the event. Moira was heard crying in the background.
She got a police report saying that a southwest flight attendant has notified the police of their presence at the flight, believing that MacCarthy was doing some sort of human trafficking. And the evidence?
“Their claim we boarded the flight suspiciously late. We allegedly didn’t speak to each other during the flight and I allegedly forbade the flight crew from speaking to my daughter. None of those claims are true,” she said, wanting the airlines to be responsible for their actions as it is nothing comparable to racial harassment as well as racial profiling.
“We had been profiled for being a white mother with a biracial Black child, I know if I had a daughter that was blonde we would not have to go through this trauma,” MacCarthy said.
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines said in a statement: “We were disheartened to learn of this mother’s account when traveling with her daughter. We are conducting a review of the situation internally, and we will be reaching out to the Customer to address her concerns and offer our apologies for her experience traveling with us. Our Employees undergo robust training on Human Trafficking. Above all, Southwest Airlines prides itself on providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for the millions of customers who travel with us each year.”
MacCarthy was not directly contacted by the airlines. She obtained a legal representative and plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.
