Three females traveling to Philadelphia ended up in Broward County jail after a violent, outrageous altercation with Spirit Airlines employees at the Fort Lauderdale Airport on Tuesday evening over a delay in their flight.

In the incredible video that was shared on social media, a couple of females can be seen hurling full water bottles, and other objects at Spirit Airlines employees. Within seconds, the female attackers jump over Spirit Airline’s barricades that keep customers a safe distance from the workers and begin attacking the Spirit Airlines employees standing behind the service desk.  One or more Spirit Airlines employees can be seen lying on the ground as the mob of violent females punches, kicks, and stomps on them.

The Orlando Sentinel reports – What caused the ruckus at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is unknown. Police reports from the Broward Sheriff’s Office say there were five victims. The extent of the injuries was unknown.

These three females may be in a lot more trouble than they thought. According to a recent federal law, assaulting a TSA agent, or airline employee is now a federal crime.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in a letter to Congress, clarified in January 2020, that a federal law written to protect TSA agents and law enforcement officers in airports, also applies to airline workers at the ticket counters and gates.

USA Today – The aviation-security law that Congress approved in November 2001 set criminal fines and up to 10 years in prison for anyone who assaults “a federal, airport, or air carrier employee who has security duties within the airport, interferes with the performance of the duties of the employee or lessens the ability of the employee to perform those duties.”

But the departments interpreted that language to apply to only Transportation Security Administration or law-enforcement officers.

Communications Workers of America, a union representing thousands of aviation workers, fought for 15 years to have the law cover airline and airport workers. Travelers regularly become angry in airports, sometimes throwing luggage at ticket agents or punching them, according to the union.

The departments have now agreed, according to Peter Kadzik, an assistant attorney general in the office of legislative affairs.

“We agree that this statute includes, but its very language, assaults on an ‘airport, or air carrier employee who has security duties within the airport,’” Kadzik wrote Garamendi on Jan. 5. “As such, we also agree that the statutory language considers not only TSA and law enforcement officers in this criminal offense, but also airport and air carrier employees who have security duties in the airport.”

Nonrev Travel News reports – The Communication Workers of America, the union that represents airline workers, praised the ruling, saying it will help protect airline agents from being victims of air rage. The union helped collect more than 2,000 signatures urging the Justice Department to clarify the law.

Communications Workers of America, a union representing thousands of aviation workers has fought for 15 years to have the law cover airline and airport workers. Travelers regularly become angry in airports, sometimes throwing luggage at ticket agents or punching them, according to the union.

Candice Johnson, a spokeswoman for the CWA, said the union’s next challenge is to make sure that airlines push to have anyone who assaults their workers prosecuted under the federal law, not just state laws.