Portland Man Goes to Court Accused Of Trying To Open Emergency Exit On Flight

New information’s shedding light on why a Portland man, tried to open an emergency exit door during a flight last week.

Court documents say 31 year old Michael Brandon Demarre was pulling on the handle with his full body weight, during the commercial flight from Salt Lake City to Portland.  A flight attendant demanded he let the door handle go.  The affidavit says Demarre told police, he did it so passengers would record him and he’d quote, have the opportunity to share his thoughts on COVID-19 vaccines. 

In his first court appearance Monday, his public defender called the allegations out of character for Demarre.  A judge ordered him to have a mental health evaluation. 

He is facing federal charges after the incident on a Delta flight on February 11th.