A Florida evangelist was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight on Thursday after preaching to passengers, and was later barred from traveling with the airline. Whitney Lynn, 40, was aboard a delayed flight at Orlando International Airport when she stood in the aisle and delivered a sermon to fellow travelers.
Lynn recorded the incident and shared it on social media, describing it as "spiritual warfare" and stating that demons "don’t like the name of Jesus." She told passengers that God's timing was perfect and suggested he might be protecting them from danger. According to Lynn, she finished her sermon, which lasted less than a minute, and returned to her seat without being asked to stop.
However, an airline employee approached her and informed her that the crew did not feel safe with her onboard and ordered her to leave the aircraft. Lynn questioned the decision, asking if the message of Jesus Christ was considered unsafe and if her freedom of speech was being infringed upon. She later spent approximately 40 minutes speaking with police officers at the airport, but no arrests or criminal charges were filed.
Alaska Airlines confirmed the passenger was removed for safety reasons and stated she would not be permitted to travel on their flights for the foreseeable future. Lynn received an email from the airline's corporate security department indicating she was banned pending an investigation into her recent travels, affecting Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Horizon Air. She was traveling to California for a follower's funeral and eventually rebooked with a different airline.
Lynn, who identifies as an evangelist, singer-songwriter, producer, and "deliverance minister," has gained over 270,000 followers on Instagram by posting videos of her sermons in various public spaces, including airplanes. She told The Washington Post that she preaches on most flights, viewing passengers as a "captive audience" and her message as a "life raft" for those who need saving. She characterized her sermon on the Alaska Airlines flight as one of her "softest" messages.
Lynn has drawn parallels between her situation and biblical figures, asserting that the airline violated her First Amendment rights. Legal experts note that the First Amendment generally restricts government actions, not the policies of private companies. Lynn also questioned why other groups were permitted to express themselves publicly while she faced removal and a ban for discussing her faith.