Shoshana Walter/The Bay Citizen

Rageh Almoraissi, whose cousin was arrested on an American Airlines flight Sunday, answers phone calls Monday at his family's smoke shop in Vallejo

The Yemeni man arrested by federal authorities after trying to break down the cockpit door on American Airlines Flight 1561 Sunday was a “nice guy” who spoke limited English, relatives said Monday. 

Rageit Almurisi, 28, was arrested after yelling and pounding on the cockpit door during the flight from Chicago to San Francisco.

On Monday, Almurisi's closest American relatives said they are puzzled by the accounts of Almurisi's behavior.

According to Rageh Almoraissi, 29, a cousin who shares the same name, Almurisi was on his way to Vallejo from New York, where he had lived for nearly a year with his older brother, a cab driver. The brother recently returned to Yemen, prompting Almurisi's return to Vallejo.

“He's not a terrorist,” the slightly older Almoraissi said. “He's a nice guy.”

Almurisi moved to Vallejo from a village in Yemen about a year and a half ago and began working part-time at his cousin's smoke shop on Tennessee Street and taking English classes at the adult school. According to his cousin, Almurisi had planned to pursue citizenship in the United States.

Almurisi's wife, a Yemeni with American citizenship, and his two young children still live in Yemen, Almoraissi said.

According to his cousin, Almurisi has a bachelor's degree from a Yemeni university and taught high school mathematics. His parents died when he was a young child, and he was raised by his grandparents.

At approximately 8:50 p.m. on Sunday evening, thirty minutes before Flight 1561 was scheduled to land, the flight's purser saw Almurisi approach the cockpit door and try to enter, according to a sworn affidavit from Paul A. Howard, a federal air marshal.

The pursuer thought Almurisi was looking for the restroom, and repeatedly attempted to redirect him to the restroom. Almurisi “made eye contact with him, lowered his left shoulder and rammed the cockpit door," the affidavit states.

The purser got between the passenger and the door, grabbed him and called for help, while Almurisi yelled and pushed forward towards the door. Several passengers responded, including two retired law enforcement officers, who wrestled him to the floor. Almurisi repeatedly attempted to break free and return to the cockpit door, according to the affidavit.

Almurisi is charged with interfering with a flight crew and is expected in federal court Tuesday morning.

While SFPD sergeant Michael Rodriguez described Almurisi as a “pretty big guy,” according to Almoraissi and several other cousins, Almurisi is about 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs about 150 pounds, is not very religious and does not drink. He can speak English but sometimes has difficulty understanding it, especially under stress, Almoraissi said. He added that Almurisi was sometimes naïve and ignorant about American culture.

“He's been in a third world country, in a village, for most of his life,” he said. “The first Asian he saw, he didn't mean it, he wasn't trying to be funny, he was being serious. He said, 'Are you related to Jackie Chan?' I was like, whoa. Luckily, the guy didn't understand what he said.”

Almoraissi's father, Jamal, and brother, Faris, tried to visit Almurisi in jail, but were not able to see him. Almurisi remained in federal custody late Monday and had yet to call them.

Standing in the middle of the smoke shop, the family struggled to understand their relative's actions, speculating on his various motivations.

Almoraissi, who said he's had various encounters with federal authorities and is frequently subject to random searches at the airport, said passengers and authorities likely misinterpreted his cousin's
behavior and overreacted because of Almurisi's Middle Eastern appearance. He speculated that Almurisi got up from his seat, because he was probably being harassed and wanted to report it.

His father, Jamal, wondered whether Almurisi had mistaken the cockpit door for the bathroom. Faris said Almurisi has rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that can cause severe pain, stiffness and swelling in one's joints. Doctors recommend that patients with the disease intermittently take walks on long flights.

“There's a lot of things I'm guessing, you know, I'm just trying to figure it out,” Rageh said. “I know he wasn't trying to harm anyone. I know that for sure, without even knowing anything about what happened. He's not that type of person.”

Despite their defense of Almurisi, the three men seemed lost Monday with little information. But as his closest American relatives, they said they would pay for a lawyer.

“I would not be having that,” Rageh said. “If a flight attendant has the nerve to grab me and try to force me to my seat, believe me, you would hear about other people having injuries.”

Faris, his older brother, shook his head.

“No, no, I would listen,” he said. “You got to be smart.”

“I need to talk to him,” said Jamal, after speculating about his mental health. “I need to see for myself.”

The Almoraissis, who come from a village in Yemen of the same name, have had other brushes with federal authorities, thanks in part to the wide network of Almurisis in the United States.

In September last year, Jamal Almoraissi was interviewed by federal authorities after Hezam al-Murisi, a distant cousin, was arrested in Amsterdam en route to Yemen, when authorities found what appeared to be suspicious items inside his companion's suitcase. They were initially held on suspicion of conducting a dry run for a terrorist attack, but released two days later due to lack of evidence.

“That was a mistake, a complete misunderstanding,” said Rageh. “When we go back to Yemen, we bring back things for relatives, and it was just packaged weirdly. That's all.”

Rageh's father, Jamal, migrated to the United States 37 years ago and has 13 sons, most of whom were born in Oakland and Vallejo. He decided many years ago to stop selling liquor because of his faith, and now owns several properties in the area. He wears a kufi everyday.

He said his family has often been scrutinized by law enforcement, but he has faith that the criminal justice system will do what is right.

“Some people believe Muslims in this country are treated unfairly. But it better than there,” he said, with a strong accent. “If he did nothing wrong, he'll get nothing.”

Rageh, who grew up in Oakland, disagreed. He said his family would pay for a good lawyer.

“Public defender? Public pretender,” he said. “I've got no faith in the system.”