The St. Charles sheriff is addressing a video that showed an incident between a St. Charles deputy and travelers at MSY airport on Sunday.
The video circulating on social media shows the deputy raising his voice at a large group of travelers who were standing in line attempting to get into the airport.
Due to a partial government shutdown, airports across the country are seeing massive delays with many Transportation Security Administration workers calling out sick.
This is causing major delays and long lines at the airport.
According to Sheriff Greg Champagne, the released video does not show the full context of the situation.
Champagne issued the following statement on the incident:
“I would like to address the chaos at New Orleans International Airport yesterday, Sunday, March 22, 2026, as well as a video that has been disseminated showing a St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Deputy raising his voice to restore order as the situation rapidly deteriorated. The released video does not show the full context of what was transpiring.
As everyone knows, with the shortage of TSA Employees caused by the Congressional Shutdown of this agency’s funding, lines at airports around the country have become extensive, causing flight delays, missed flights, and, in general, chaos as everyone tries to get through security screening.
This was the situation at Armstrong Airport yesterday. Due to the large number of travelers, the staging area for these passengers had to be extended to a parking garage. Anxiety was high, and tempers were short as people were stressed by the long waits and the risk of missed flights. Security and administrative officials at the airport were doing their best to organize the process, but felt the situation was becoming more volatile and that they were losing control of the crowd.
Our deputy, who regularly works off-duty shifts at the airport, was requested to rush to the parking garage and restore some order to the process. He did so, and what he observed was profanity-laced, heated arguments among some travelers on the verge of becoming physical. There were no loudspeakers there, as it was obviously never intended for the garage to serve as a staging area for security screening. The crowd was large, unhappy, and loud – understandably so. It was described as a ‘mob’ all pushing forward with no lines. The deputy raised his voice and loudly informed everyone of the process that would take place. He made the announcement without using profanity and quickly restored order. Airport officials were very thankful for his quick and decisive action.
After reviewing this incident today, I personally called our deputy and thanked him for taking decisive action to bring a chaotic, volatile situation under control. We are sorry if anyone was offended, but necessary action was taken, and order was restored.
Now, it’s time for Congress to do its job and protect our citizens!”
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