In a wild incident that was caught on film, a Canadian man started a violent brawl in Miami International Airport, physically attacking TSA officers and allegedly hitting other passengers, which led to the man’s arrest and a guilty plea in federal court on two counts related to assaulting and resisting federal officers.
For context, on December 27, 2024, Cameron Dylan McDougall, a 28-year-old man from Toronto, allegedly hit another passenger mid-flight on his way from Panama City back to Ontario. According to press accounts, the incident led to McDougall’s flight getting diverted to Miami, where McDougall was removed from the aircraft upon landing.
Furthermore, court documents shared by Local 10 News confirmed that once in Miami, McDougall was released by authorities and booked another flight back to Toronto. However, on December 28, McDougall, “without security authorization, re-entered Transportation Security checkpoint ‘J South’ despite having already cleared the security checkpoint.”
Next, the situation got even worse when, after returning to the TSA checkpoint, McDougall approached a security officer and attempted to punch him “three times in the face.” Court documents explained that the officer was not injured and that another officer came to assist him, at which point, McDougall “used his right hand to strike [the officer’s] face at least three times.” In addition, court documents confirmed that following the incident, McDougall pled guilty to charges of “forcibly assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal employee.”
In addition, press accounts clarified that the security camera footage of the encounter between McDougall and the two TSA officers was released to the public in late May 2025, depicting McDougall fiercely throwing punches before getting flipped over a TSA cart and trying to resist as the two agents fought him.
Moreover, Local 10 News reported that a federal criminal complaint filed against McDougall described him as having “physically struck another passenger” prior to his unexpected arrival in Miami, but further details about the incident on the plane are unknown. Press coverage clarified that McDougall only faces charges for his aggressive behavior in the airport, not for the alleged assault of a passenger.
Additionally, TSA responded to McDougall’s actions in the Miami airport in a statement shared with NBC News, calling it an “unprovoked and brash physical attack against our employees, who work tirelessly to ensure the safety of the traveling public and the security of our aviation system.” In addition, a TSA spokesperson described the attack as “unacceptable,” saying that McDougall’s actions “will not be tolerated.”
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Concluding the statement, the TSA spokesperson said that the agency was “working with law enforcement and will pursue independent enforcement actions against this individual.” Importantly, the federal complaint filed against McDougall, which included firsthand accounts from the two TSA officers he attacked, played a key role in his trial.
Watch the airport brawl:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video