Elderly Pastor Charged with Assaulting Wife on Plane Over First-Class Upgrade
An elderly evangelical pastor is facing federal charges for allegedly assaulting his wife on an airplane after she was upgraded to first class and he wasn’t.
The incident occurred on July 2 aboard Alaska Airlines flight 275 from Seattle to Anchorage. Roger Allan Holmberg Sr., 75, verbally abused his spouse and made obscene gestures in front of shocked passengers, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Independent.
The couple, who were traveling from Virginia to Alaska for a ministry-related meeting, had known each other for 20 years before marrying a year and a half ago, after the death of Holmberg’s previous wife.
Holmberg, who does not have an attorney listed in court records, is scheduled to appear in Anchorage federal court on Monday. He remains detained and could not be reached for comment. His 59-year-old wife, whose name is being withheld for privacy, did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the complaint, a first-class passenger sitting next to Holmberg’s wife witnessed the initial confrontation. Holmberg, seated in coach, approached his wife and demanded, “How the hell did you get the upgrade?” His wife, a gold point member, replied, “Don’t speak to me like that.”
In a second incident, Holmberg handed his wife his phone, told her to read the screen, and then gave her the finger. During a third confrontation, Holmberg allegedly pushed in front of his wife’s seatmate and attempted to strike his wife. The seatmate tried to block the blow, but Holmberg still managed to hit his wife on the head. Holmberg’s wife later revealed he had previously abused her, breaking her finger in one incident.
An off-duty police officer on the flight noticed the disturbance and heard Holmberg’s wife telling him, “You cannot be doing that.” After confirming Holmberg had struck his wife, the officer warned Holmberg that further incidents would result in handcuffs, which stopped Holmberg’s disruptions.
Upon landing in Anchorage, an FBI special agent and an Anchorage Airport Police officer met the plane. Holmberg’s wife, who was not visibly injured, told authorities
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