MIAMI – A Canadian man accused of assaulting Transportation Security Administration officers at Miami International Airport has until Friday to enter into a plea agreement or head to a federal trial in late April or early May, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.
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Cameron Dylan McDougall, 28, of Toronto, was initially arrested on state charges after the Dec. 28, 2024 incident.
According to federal court documents, McDougall was only in South Florida because of his actions on a flight between Panama and Canada.
Miami-Dade court records show that the state case, which includes three felony counts and one misdemeanor charge, remained active as of Tuesday.
McDougall was quietly indicted on federal charges soon after.
A federal criminal complaint states that McDougall “physically struck another passenger” in the midst of a Dec. 27 Copa Airlines flight from Panama City to Toronto, leading the pilot to divert to Miami.
McDougall was removed from the flight ― but not arrested ― and was told he could book a separate flight to Toronto on another airline, it states.
The next day, authorities said after he bought a ticket for an Air Canada flight from Miami to Toronto, McDougall cleared security and then, “without warning,” randomly hit another passenger at around 6:37 a.m.
The complaint states he then struck an airport security guard who tried to intervene. Two minutes after hitting the passenger, McDougall went back to the security screening area and threw three punches at a TSA supervisor, authorities said.
The TSA officer dodged the blows, they said.
As another TSA officer intervened, McDougall fell to the ground and as the second officer tried holding him down, McDougall punched the second officer in the face “at least three times,” causing minor injuries, the complaint states.
Officers with what was then the Miami-Dade Police Department took him into custody afterward and arrested him on state charges.
McDougall, facing a charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees, could spend three years in federal prison and face a fine of up to $5,000.
According to federal court documents, if he doesn’t enter a guilty plea before Friday, his trial is set to be held “during the two-week period” starting April 21.
A hearing in the state case is scheduled for May 15 in Miami-Dade County court.
Jail records show he was being held in Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Tuesday, where he’s been in custody since late December.