![Operations Inside The Southwest Airlines Co. Terminal Ahead Of Earnings Figures Operations Inside The Southwest Airlines Co. Terminal Ahead Of Earnings Figures](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/airplane-hijab.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
A man pleaded guilty to religious obstruction on Friday after pulling off a woman’s hijab on an airplane last year.
Gill Parker Payne, 37, was on a Southwest airlines flight from Chicago to Albuquerque in December, when he told another passenger—identified only as K.A. by the Justice Department—to remove her hijab, the Washington Post reported.
According a written statement by Payne, he said “Take it off! This is America!” and when the woman didn’t remove the hijab, he pulled it off her head.
“As a result, K.A. felt violated and quickly pulled the hijab back up and covered her head again,” Payne said in a written statement in his plea agreement, filed Friday.
“Because I forcibly removed K.A.’s hijab, I admit that the United States can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I intentionally obstructed K.A.’s free exercise of her religious beliefs,” he wrote.
Payne pleaded guilty to obstruction of a person’s free exercise of religious beliefs. He has not yet been sentenced, but he faces a maximum prison sentence of one year and a fine of $100,000.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Biden Drops Out of Presidential Race , Endorses Harris to Replace Him
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Stop Feeling Bad About Sweating
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com