The man who shot and killed one of the most wanted terrorists in U.S. history is contesting allegations that he refused to wear a mask while aboard a Delta Air Lines flight that he was kicked off of on Thursday.
Robert O’Neill, who is best known for killing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, had shared a tweet of himself sitting on a Delta flight sans mask on Thursday morning with a caption that read, “I’m not a p—y.” O’Neill pulled the tweet down after users criticized him for the content, which included a man wearing a mask and a U.S. Marines Corps hat in the background.
O’Neill is contesting the suggestion that he refused to wear a mask, tweeting late on Thursday that he simply had his mask in his lap outside of the frame.
“I had my mask in my lap,” O’Neill tweeted. “Everyone has gone crazy.”
I had my mask in my lap. Everyone has gone crazy.. https://t.co/tWyqm59o6j via @washtimes
— Robert J. O’Neill (@mchooyah) August 20, 2020
O’Neill posted to Twitter in the afternoon to announce that he had been banned from traveling with Delta, but a representative with Delta told Business Insider that the company was investigating O’Neill’s tweet and did not elaborate on whether or not he has been barred from traveling with the company in the future.
“Part of every customer’s commitment prior to traveling on Delta is the requirement to acknowledge our updated travel policies, which includes wearing a mask,” Anthony Black, a spokesman for Delta, said in an email. “Failure to comply with our mask-wearing mandate can result in losing the ability to fly Delta in the future.”
O’Neill has voiced skepticism about the efficacy of masks, comparing them to a “novelty” on his Twitter account throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Delta recently added requirements for anyone traveling with the company who wishes not to wear a mask aboard a flight. Passengers are instructed to speak with a telehealth medical professional at the company before boarding.
