Selma Blair faces lengthy jail spell after mid-flight rampage as her lawyer reveals new health setback

Published: 13:00 EDT, 13 October 2026 | Updated: 13:00 EDT, 13 October 2026

Selma Blair could face seven years in jail after her arrest for allegedly ‘biting and striking’ airline staff, a police officer, and a nurse on Sunday.

In court on Monday, the actress, 54, pleaded not guilty to state charges of two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly attacking the nurse and cop.

But she also faces separate federal charges after being accused of injuring two flight attendants on the trip from Los Angeles to New York City.

She appeared to cry during her hearing at Queens Criminal Court in New York, where she stood in handcuffs, wearing jeans and a white hooded sweatshirt.

Her attorney Shawn Barnes said: ‘This was not an intentional assault. Ms Blair missed several doses of a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms.’

Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and has since detailed her struggles with the disease publicly.

However, Barnes explained that in addition to MS, his client was also diagnosed with Parkinsonism, group of nervous system disorders that cause movement symptoms such as tremors, stiffness, and involuntary muscle actions.

Blair is due back in court on January 19. According to New York sentencing guidelines, she could face up to seven years in prison if convicted on the state charges of attacking the nurse and police officer.

No date has been set for the federal case against her, which would relate to the allegations of assault specifically aboard the aircraft.

She is expected to face her federal charges in petty violations court in Brooklyn, sources told PEOPLE.

Aftermath: Actress Selma Blair is seen leaving a New York court after alleged attacks on several people during a flight from Los Angeles to New York

According to a law enforcement source, the FBI issued Blair a summons for alleged assaults within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

Blair’s lawyer told the court that the actress ‘boarded this flight after being on set and working extensive hours and exhaustive hours in the days leading up to this flight’.

He claimed that ‘at one point, during the flight, there was an incident where Miss Blair actually fell and hit her head’, adding: ‘These factors, coupled with the altitude, resulted in a state of severe confusion and disorientation.’

Another lawyer defending the actress, Joshua Reitzas, called Blair ‘the gold standard’ and ‘someone we should look up to’ when considering ‘her body of work and what she’s done for people’.

Judge Kahn responded: ‘Ms Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity.’

The actress was pictured leaving court on Monday after Judge Khan set Blair’s bail at $20,000 in cash, or a $60,000 bond or partially secured bond.

Blair was arrested after allegedly attacking members of the flight crew aboard a Delta aircraft on Sunday – leaving distressed pilots asking for ‘medical help’ as they landed.

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The actress reportedly attempted to open the aircraft door while the plane was in the air on its way to John F Kennedy International Airport from Los Angeles’ LAX, leading to a ‘confrontation’ with crew members.

It was claimed Blair punched one flight attendant and bit another, after trying to open the plane’s door in the middle of the flight – with Delta confirming the arrest.

Dispatch audio from ATC.com, obtained by CNN, indicated that a request initially went out for medics to meet the aircraft because two crew members needed care.

A later transmission stated that there was ‘a bloody nose as well as some bite marks’ – without saying who was hurt, and separately said that the passenger may have ‘bashed her head on the bulkhead’.

A Delta spokesman told The Daily Mail on Sunday: ‘Delta has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.’

After leaving the plane, Blair allegedly took her leg out of a stretcher’s straps and kicked at a Port Authority Police Officer’s face, neck and chest, the complaint indicated, as she was being transported in an ambulance from JFK Airport Terminal 4.

According to the legal complaint, after Blair was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, she kicked the chest of a registered nurse.

Both the nurse and police officer reported being in pain after being attacked, prosecutors said, adding that the officer had a swollen jaw.