Senators urge U.S. Justice Dept to prosecute unruly air passengers

Two senior U.S. Senate Democrats on Monday urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate and prosecute unruly air passengers in the face of a rising number of incidents.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Senator Maria Cantwell called on the Justice Department and Federal Aviation Administration to coordinate efforts to "ensure qualifying passenger behavior is criminally prosecuted.... Civil penalties alone are failing to deter criminal activity by airline passengers."