By MEAD GRUVER, DAVID KOENIG and LOLITA BALDOR | Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A pilot accused of threatening to shoot a commercial airline captain if they diverted their flight to give a passenger medical attention is an Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel who was relieved of command for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Jonathan J. Dunn’s military service came to light in a Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office filing Thursday in which a judge was asked to delay his arraignment for 45 to 60 days to allow time for the U.S. military to bring Dunn back from overseas.
Dunn was indicted Oct. 18 and charged with interfering with a flight crew over the alleged in-flight incident in August 2022. The Transportation Department’s inspector general had said Dunn threatened to shoot the captain during the disagreement over whether to divert because of the passenger’s medical issue.
Dunn was afterward sent on orders to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, training to serve at the 603rd Air Operations Center. The Air Force has suspended his access to sensitive information and to the air operations center because of the airline incident, according to a spokesman for the Air Force in Europe.
Phone messages and an email seeking comment from Dunn’s lawyer were not immediately returned Thursday.
Though Dunn flew for Delta Air Lines, investigators have not said on which airline or route the confrontation happened. On Wednesday, Delta said Dunn no longer worked there, and federal officials say his authority to carry a gun on board was revoked.
He is the same Jonathan Dunn who unsuccessfully sued the Pentagon to prevent the Air Force from disciplining him for refusing to receive a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, according to a person familiar with the matter who would only discuss non-public information on condition of anonymity.
Dunn objected to the vaccine on religious grounds. He also argued that he was already protected because he contracted the virus in 2021. The U.S….
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