A Virginia pastor is accused of assaulting his wife on an Alaskan Airlines flight after she was upgraded to first class and he wasn’t.
Roger Allan Holmberg, 75, was arrested after touching down in Anchorage on July 2 for allegedly hitting his 59-year-old wife in the head and insulting her in front of passengers, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Independent.
The couple — who were married about a year and a half ago but have known each other for two decades — had been traveling from Seattle to Alaska on ministry business.
Shortly after takeoff, Holmberg allegedly stormed up to first class from where he was seated in coach and demanded that his wife explain how she got the luxury seat.
“How the hell did you get the upgrade?” he said, according to the complaint.
The wife replied that she was a “gold point member,” before telling him, “Don’t speak to me like that.”
The enraged husband then approached her again later in the flight and allegedly demanded she look at something on his phone, before giving her the middle finger and skulking off.
He returned a third time and tried to hit his wife before her seatmate stepped in and blocked him, according to the complaint.
However, Holmberg “still appeared to strike the top of victim’s head with his hand,” the complaint states.
An off-duty cop sitting near Holmberg’s wife then realized what was happening and threatened to arrest the pastor if he didn’t stop.
“You cannot be doing that,” the cop told Homberg, before adding that “if there were any further incidents, we would put him in handcuffs.”
Holmberg remained in his seat after that, according to the complaint.
Upon landing around 6:41 p.m. the man was arrested by airport police, and his wife reported that he “had a history of abusing her” — including an incident where he allegedly broke her finger during a fight.
She also stated that she had epilepsy and that her husband knew striking her could trigger a seizure.
After being detained at the airport, Holmberg admitted he and his wife had problems — but blamed them on her.
“[Holmberg] stated [his wife] was disrespectful to him often and had anger issues,” the complaint read.
The pastor claimed she had broken her oen finger assaulting him and had once “grabbed his genitals in the past with such force that [he] was in pain.”
He acknowledged being upset on the flight because they weren’t seated together but said he had merely “tapped his wife on the head in passing to get her attention.”
“He stated he was not a violent person and did not intend to hurt his wife,” the complaint read.
Holmberg was charged with one count of simple assault. He faces up to a year in prison if convicted.
Neither Holmberg nor his wife responded to requests for comment.
