Delta bans Mitt Romney hecklers from its flights

US airline Delta announced on Thursday it had banned passengers who were involved in heckling senators Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham from all its future flights.

Delta’s chief executive Ed Bastian told Reuters on Thursday that customers involved in such incidents are banned from flying with the company.

Starting this weekend all Delta passengers will be banned from checking firearms into the hold.
"We're all on high alert based on the events over the last couple of weeks up in Washington,'' Mr Bastian told CNBC.
Only law enforcement officials will be exempt from the ban, he added.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, a passenger “may transport unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only.” The TSA rules also requires passengers to declare firearms when checking the luggage.

Mr Romney and Mr Graham were heckled by pro-Trump supporters at Salt Lake City and Reagan National airports last week. In footage on social media, Mr Romney was called a traitor by an angry supporter of the outgoing president.

Mr Romney has lost favour with Mr Trump’s supporters for certifying the electoral victory of Joe Biden, recognised by US law and the electoral college.

Congress certified those results last week at the 11th hour after a mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed into the Capitol last Wednesday. However, 147 Republicans objected to the certification.

Mr Graham was also threatened and called a liar and a traitor on a flight last week after voting to certify the results.

The ban follows the deadly events of last week when pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol, leaving five dead and triggering a second impeachment of the president on Thursday.

Last week, American Airlines said it will suspend alcohol sales for its DC flights as an extra security measure.

The public backlash against the rioters prompted a wave of top Fortune 500 companies to pull donations from the 147 members of Congress who voted against the certification of the election result.

Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, and Walt Disney joined a long list of companies that are suspending donations to those members. The list includes Amazon, American Airlines, American Express, Airbnb, AT&T, Best Buy, BP, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Cisco, Coca-Cola, ConocoPhillips, Comcast, Dell, Deloitte, Dow, Nike and others.

Facebook, Lyft and DoorDash announced this week that they will halt donations to the Republican Attorneys General Association “after reports that the group helped organise robocalls urging protesters to descend on the Capitol on Jan 6, when a violent mob attacked the building”, Fox News reported.

Microsoft is putting all its political contributions on hold. "Microsoft's political action committee decided last Friday that it will not make any political donations until after it assesses the implications of last week's events," the company said.

Hallmark Cards asked senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Roger Marshall of Kansas, who voted against certifying the results, to return any campaign donations from the company’s employees.

The halt in donations is creating more pressure on the Republican Party as the impeachment heads for a Senate trial where Democrats are hoping that enough Republican senators join them to convict Mr Trump in the weeks ahead.