Jurors have acquitted a 38-year-old woman of charges related to a large brawl inside the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2021 over Thanksgiving weekend.
Jurors acquit Rochester woman of charges stemming from brawl at MSP airport
Attorney said his client was protecting her five children.
May 19, 2023 at 4:36PM
Chakyna Henry of Rochester was found not guilty of third-degree riot, a gross misdemeanor, and two counts of misdemeanor assault in connection with the mayhem on Nov. 26, 2021, near a Terminal 2 gate.
The fights erupted among a dozen or so male and female passengers after two large groups exited a Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando, according an airport spokesman. Injuries inflicted were minor, the spokesman said.
A bystander's video of the incident, which lasted just over a minute, was posted on social media and shared many thousands of times. Neither law enforcement nor airport officials have said what sparked the conflict.
The prosecution said the video showed Henry swinging a white bag or pillowcase at people who were fighting, then grabbed a metal garbage can lid and struck people involved in the brawl.
Henry's defense attorney, Julian Robinson, said Friday that the video "doesn't exactly speak to people's intentions or what was going on. ... Ms. Henry was trying to protect her five kids."
A man was punching her two teenage daughters in the face, and "she sprung into action," Robinson said. "We can't be criminalizing this single mom for protecting her kids."
Another person charged with the same counts as Henry in connection with the mayhem, 42-year-old Edward L. Triplett of Andover is scheduled to go to trial June 12.
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