Charges To Be Dismissed for 2 Soccer Players Accused in Flight Ruckus: Atty.

The men were accused of behaving in an unruly manner aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1522 bound for Chicago on Aug. 31, 2015.

Charges will be dismissed for at least two of the San Diego-based soccer players accused of disturbing a Southwest Airlines flight last month, leading the flight crew to divert the plane off course.

Attorney Christy Drake told NBC 7 Thursday that two of the six defendants – Saiman Hermez, 19, and Ghazwan Asaad Shaba, 21 – will no longer face charges. She represents Hermez in the case.

The dismissal of charges for the other four men – Jonathan Khalid Petra, 20; Essa Solaqa, 20; Khalid Yohana, 19; and Wisam Imad Shaker, 23 – are still pending, Drake confirmed.

A complaint filed against the young men in early September accused them of behaving in a rowdy and unruly manner aboard an Aug. 31 Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego bound for Chicago.

According to the complaint, the men – who reside in the Chaldean community of El Cajon in east San Diego – were allegedly shouting, standing, refusing to obey orders from flight crew members, using profanity and calling people names on Flight 1522.

At one point, a flight attendant allegedly feared for the safety of crew and passengers. The flight crew declared the group a "Level One Threat" and ultimately decided to divert the plane to Amarillo, Texas, rather than continuing on course to Chicago.

Upon deplaning, the men were detained and charged with interfering with a flight crew, aiding and abetting – counts that carried a maximum of 20 years behind bars for each of the accused.

The men were later released from custody and returned home to El Cajon on Sept. 4, traveling by car.

Family members and leaders in San Diego’s Chaldean community were shocked by the allegations against the soccer players and said the men were not being rowdy, rather only using their Aramaic language on the flight. They said kicking the men off the plane was an overreaction by the flight crew.

Upon their return home, a spokesperson for the men said the group planned to eventually file a joint lawsuit against Southwest Airlines.

Drake told NBC 7 she is only representing Hermez in the criminal case, not in the civil lawsuit so at this point, it is unknown if Hermez or the other men still plan to move forward with filing the lawsuit.

San Diego businessman and activist for the Chaldean community Mark Arabo released this comment Thursday on the latest developments concerning the case of the Southwest Six:

"Today, the federal government made the right decision, and took a proactive step against intolerance. We commend the federal government for acknowledging the issue as nothing more than what it is -- a few young men acting immature."

"Justice has been served for 2 of the individuals on Southwest flight 1522. We need to ensure that never again will Southwest Airlines terrorize young people for simply speaking another language. We fully expect, and and will continue to support the rest of the young men throughout the remainder of their cases. And, we will stop at no lengths to protect any and all flyers from having to go through with the orchestrated pandemonium that Southwest Airlines put their passengers through. Our work will not stop."
 

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