Chris Christie's Niece Charged With Felony

Shannon Epstein allegedly injured 6 deputies after being kicked off flight
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2022 6:48 AM CST
Updated Dec 6, 2023 2:10 PM CST
Chris Christie's Niece Allegedly Bites Deputies
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks on stage before speaking at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.   (AP Photo/John Locher)
UPDATE Dec 6, 2023 2:10 PM CST

Chris Christie's niece has been formally charged in connection with an alleged drunken meltdown at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Thanksgiving Day last year. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports Shannon Epstein, 26, was on Monday charged with one felony—resisting police by force or violence—and two counts of disturbing the peace by public intoxication. Police said it took seven deputies to restrain Epstein after she was kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight and six of them were injured, including one who was bitten. An incident report states that Epstein boasted about knowing Donald Trump and told deputies they would lose their jobs, saying, "Do you know who I am? I'm Chris Christie's daughter, and you're so f---ed."

Dec 4, 2022 6:48 AM CST

Chris Christie is in the mix as a potential 2024 candidate, and one of his nieces is providing the wrong kind of headlines for him. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that 25-year-old Shannon Epstein bit and spit on deputies trying to detain her at Louis Armstrong International Airport. Jefferson Parish deputies were called to the airport on Thanksgiving Day after Epstein allegedly became belligerent on a Spirt Airlines flight. After she asked Latino passengers if they were "smuggling cocaine" and seemed to become increasingly angry, airline workers decided to have her removed from the plane, which had just begun to taxi toward the runway.

Epstein became "extremely combative" during the arrest, says a sheriff's spokesperson. She is accused of injuring six deputies, including one by biting an arm hard enough to break the skin and another with a kick to the groin. The deputies were treated by paramedics. Epstein reportedly was shouting that the deputies would lose their jobs because her famous uncle, the former governor of New Jersey, is friends with Donald Trump. (Both men would probably dispute the friendship part.) Epstein faces several charges, including six counts of battery on a police officer, three of disturbing the peace, and one of resisting arrest. She was released on bond and is due in court next month. (More Chris Christie stories.)

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