Two Muslim women removed from Jetblue flight after 'staring' at flight attendant

JetBlue said that the flight attendant believed one of the women had been filming the journey.

Two Muslim women were escorted off a Jetblue flight after a crew member reportedly was uncomfortable with the way they "were staring back at her.”

According to the Daily Mail, the video was filmed by witness Sharon Kessler and posted on YouTube by her friend Mark Frauenfelder, a journalist and former editor of Wired magazine. The video shows the two being told by police officers to leave the JetBlue plane before its flight from Boston to Los Angeles Saturday.  The women, wearing hijabs, are seen silently gathering their hand luggage while other passengers remain seated and the flight continued on without incident.

In a caption below the YouTube video, which has since been made private but is available on other channels, Frauenfelder said Kessler “overheard a flight attendant tell a co-worker that she didn’t like the way two Muslim women were staring back at her.”

Kessler later wrote on Facebook that the women had been quietly watching films throughout the flight. "It was a terrible moment -- honestly -- these women sat quietly, watched movies -- it felt like overkill from this flight attendant," he wrote.

JetBlue released a statement, saying the flight attendant believed one of the women had been filming the journey.

"More than 35 million customers from many cultures and backgrounds travel on JetBlue without incident each year," according to the statement. "Our crewmembers' first priority is the safe and secure operation of our flights, and as a security precaution, are asked to be aware of anyone who may be filming or taking photographs of inflight procedures or the flight deck area. If a crewmember believes a customer may be filming safety procedures, the crewmember may report it for further review."