Rev. George Varughese
Baltimore, Maryland: Messianic Jewish Rabbi and bestselling author Jonathan Cahn says he was physically assaulted by his seatmate during an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark on September 3, prompting the aircraft to divert to Baltimore. According to Cahn, the confrontation began after a lengthy conversation about faith and escalated into verbal abuse, threats, and physical contact that other passengers helped restrain.
Cahn, identified himself in a recent video and interviews as the previously unnamed passenger seated beside Arthur Layne Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, Arizona, on Flight 618. Cahn said the two men initially spoke amiably for a substantial period. He recounted sharing about his work as a Messianic Jewish minister and author, including references to the gospel and the power of God, while promoting his newly released book The Altar of Pergamon. According to Cahn’s account, Lundeen’s demeanor shifted abruptly. Cahn said Lundeen began cursing Jesus and God, using vulgar language, and later directed racial and homophobic slurs at a flight attendant and others.
Cahn described the situation turning physical. He said Lundeen put his hands around his neck in what at first appeared possibly joking, then struck him, threatened to punch his “Jewish face,” and attempted to seize or damage his laptop during a struggle. Other passengers, including one identified in reports as a retired law enforcement officer, intervened. Flight attendants provided materials, and the disruptive passenger was restrained with duct tape and zip ties while the plane made an emergency landing at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Authorities took Lundeen into custody. He has been charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to reports; further federal review by the FBI has been noted in some coverage.
Witness accounts and video circulating online corroborated the restraint and diversion. One passenger who helped subdue Lundeen was quoted in media reports describing the sudden change in behavior. Lundeen’s real estate employer reportedly ended its affiliation with him following the incident.
Cahn, who leads the Beth Israel Worship Center in Wayne, New Jersey, is a prominent Messianic Jewish voice—Jewish by heritage and Christian by faith in Jesus as Messiah. He is widely known among evangelical and charismatic Christian audiences for books linking biblical prophecy and current events, including the earlier bestseller The Harbinger. His readers and viewers often follow his teachings on spiritual realities, end-times themes, and the ongoing significance of Israel and the Jewish people. Cahn has framed the episode as involving spiritual opposition connected to the release of his latest work, describing a sudden shift he called demonic in character. He has emphasized that the fuller context of the conversation and attack had not been fully reported in initial coverage of the viral restraint footage.
The incident has drawn attention from Christian and Messianic communities concerned about hostility toward public expressions of faith and about antisemitic rhetoric. Cahn has shared that he viewed the events through a lens of spiritual testing while also noting the practical intervention of fellow passengers and crew.
