Muhammad Ali Jr. was again detained at the airport — on the way to a meeting about his first detention

Muhammad Ali Jr., the son of legendary boxing champion Muhammad Ali, was detained and questioned by airport security agents for the second time, his lawyer said Friday. Ali Jr. was traveling to meet with lawmakers about his first such detention when he was pulled aside by Department of Homeland Security officials and kept from boarding his plane for 20 minutes.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who happened to be on the same flight, tweeted her outrage.

In the first incident, Ali Jr. was held for two hours while customs agents reportedly asked questions like, "Where did you get your name from?" and "Are you Muslim?" This time around, a representative of the Transportation Security Administration said he was detained because his jewelry set off a security scanner alarm, though the detention seems to have occurred at the gate, which would be after Ali Jr. was cleared at the checkpoint.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up