Claiming that her clothing sported a "threatening" message, a Marine Corps veteran with over 20 years of service to our country was forced by an airline employee to disrobe in public and don another piece of apparel before being allowed to reboard her flight, she says.

via KNTV:

A Bay Area veteran said she was shocked and humiliated after being kicked off a Delta flight at San Francisco International Airport because of a T-shirt she was wearing.

Catherine Banks was set to fly out of SFO on Wednesday before a flight attendant told her the shirt she wore was threatening. 

...

"A male flight attendant was saying, 'Ma'am, ma'am.' I looked around, like, 'Who was he talking to?' And it was me. He said, 'You need to get off the plane,' and I was like, 'What did I do?'" [Catherine] Banks said.

It wasn't until she got off the plane and on the jet bridge when the flight attendant told her why she was asked to deplane.

Banks explained that when "[h]e said that shirt [she was] wearing is threatening," all she could manage was disbelief:

I said, "Are you kidding me? I'm a Marine Corps vet. I'm going to see my Marine sister. I've been in the Marine Corps for 22 years and worked for the Air Force for 15 years. I'm going to visit her." 

The employee wasn't moved by her words, she said: 

He said, "I don't care about your service, and I don't care about her service. The only way you're going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now."

And what was the allegedly "threatening" message? "Do Not Give In To The War Within. End Veteran Suicide":

#Delta say it isn’t so🤬 Marine vet kicked off plane over t-shirt worn to help struggling vetshttps://t.co/CCuARkEJO7 pic.twitter.com/9BZuJU3HpJ

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) October 19, 2024

Banks said it's a cause that's close to her heart. SFGATE reported that her t-shirt is all about honoring and supporting soldiers who need help with mental health:

Banks’ shirt is sold by Til Valhalla Project, which honors soldiers by raising funds for families to receive memorial plaques after their loved ones die and to help pay for therapy for struggling veterans. 

Adding to the embarrassment for Banks, she was not wearing a bra beneath her shirt, so had to turn around to maintain her privacy. She said she changed into a sweatshirt. But the ordeal wasn't over. After she was allowed back on the flight, she was told she could not return to her seat (with extra legroom, which she had paid for), but had to take a different seat in the back of the plane.

The delay also caused her to miss a connecting flight.

Here are Delta Airlines' rules on the reasons it can remove a passenger from a flight:

On Delta's website, the air carrier said it reserved the right to remove passengers from a plane "when the passenger's conduct, attire, hygiene or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers."

Banks told KNTV that the airline reached out to her on Friday to "make it right." So far, there's been no comment from Delta on any resolution.