NJ man's lawsuit claims crew forced him out of plane bathroom, exposing his genitalia

NEW YORK - A New Jersey man claims he was forcibly dragged out of an airplane bathroom while dealing with constipation during a flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston.

Yisroel Liebb filed a federal lawsuit this week in Manhattan, accusing United Airlines and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of forcibly removing him from an airplane bathroom and exposing his genitalia.

What we know:

Liebb also claims he and his friend, Jacob Sebbag, missed a connecting flight to New York City while U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers paraded them through an airport terminal, placed them in holding cells and searched their luggage.

In the lawsuit, Liebb says he was in the plane's bathroom for about 20 minutes on January 28 when a flight attendant woke Sebbag from a nap and asked him to check on him.

Liebb says he explained his issue and told Sebbag he'd be out soon, which Sebbag passed on to the flight attendant.

The backstory:

About 10 minutes later, the pilot asked Sebbag to check on Liebb. The pilot then yelled at Liebb to leave the bathroom.

Liebb said he told the pilot he was almost done, but the pilot broke the bathroom lock, pulled the door open, and dragged Liebb out with his pants around his ankles, exposing himself to Sebbag, flight attendants, and other passengers, according to the lawsuit.

Liebb and Sebbag who are both Orthodox Jewish, said the pilot pushed them back to their seats, threatened to have them arrested, and made comments about their faith, saying "Jews act" a certain way.

After the two-hour flight landed in Houston, the men said about six Customs and Border Protection officers boarded and escorted them off the plane.

Liebb said when he asked why they were being detained, an officer tightened his handcuffs and replied, "This isn’t county or state. We are Homeland. You have no rights here."

The men said United booked them a free flight to New York City the next day, but they lost any savings from the tickets because they had to pay for an overnight hotel and food during the delay.

The Associated Press reached out to United Airlines for comment, but the airline declined to respond.