FBI raids Boston hotel room, interrogates sleeping man in botched training exercise
A Delta airline pilot catching some Z’s in a Boston hotel room was reportedly handcuffed, dragged into a shower and interrogated by federal agents, who took 45 minutes to realize their botched training exercise had gone sideways.
The unidentified aviator, who’s in his 30s, had no idea what was happening, according to CBS News affiliate WBZ.
The raid occurred late Tuesday night at the Revere Hotel in downtown Boston, when agents including FBI operatives reportedly banged on the door of room 1505 demanding to be let inside, then overwhelmed its occupant.
Hotel security called Boston police, whose bodycams are said to have recorded federal agents explaining their blunder. The pilot declined treatment.
“At approximately 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, the FBI Boston Division was assisting the U.S. Department of Defense in conducting a Department of Defense (DOD) training exercise at a hotel in Boston to simulate a situation their personnel might encounter in a deployed environment,” the FBI told WBZ’s investigative team. “Based on inaccurate information, they were mistakenly sent to the wrong room and detained an individual, not the intended role player.”
The pilot did not comment on the ordeal. Delta said it was aware of the alleged incident and had nothing to immediately share.
The FBI oversees law enforcement operations that protect the nation from domestic threats including terror attacks, espionage operations, civil rights violations and cyber incursions. At the top of it’s Boston office’s Twitter feed is a request for information on right-wing extremists who invaded the nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to stop the certification of a presidential election.
Far-right wing politicians, including former President Donald Trump, has called for the FBI to be defunded or even abolished. A Florida Republican allegedly proposed a plan allowing his constituents to “shoot FBI, IRS, ATF, and all other federal troops” in August.
