US actress Selma Blair charged with additional assault counts after flight incident

US actress Selma Blair has been charged with two further assault counts following an alleged incident on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York.

Police arrested Blair late on Sunday in New York after she was removed from the aircraft and reportedly attacked flight attendants. The FBI issued a federal summons accusing her of assault on board the plane, which falls under the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

State prosecutors have added two assault charges: one for allegedly kicking a police officer while being transported in an ambulance, and another for assaulting a nurse at the hospital. Blair pleaded not guilty and was released on bail of €20,000 cash or €60,000 bond, with a further hearing set for 19 January.

According to the New York Port Authority, two flight attendants were injured, with one taken to hospital. Audio from air‑traffic control recorded a pilot requesting medical assistance, describing a “bloody nose” and “some bite marks.”

Blair’s lawyer, Shawn Barnes, asked the judge to consider the actress’s “body of work” and described her as the “gold standard,” but the judge rejected the request, stating she should not receive special treatment because she is a celebrity.

Source: BBC News. Photo: Michael Pointner / Pexels.