A federal grand jury in Virginia has charged two men in separate incidents on airplanes arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport, alleging that one assaulted a flight attendant who denied his request for wine and the other groped a fellow passenger who fell asleep in the seat next to him.

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       Both incidents occurred in December, just weeks after Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing federal prosecutors to prioritize investigations into crimes committed on planes, citing a surge in unruly passengers that have directed their ire toward flight staff.

       Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration initiated more than 1,000 investigations into unruly-passenger incidents, a striking increase from the average of 141 investigations per year in the decade prior. This year, as of Tuesday, the FAA had already launched 32 such investigations.

       Attorney general directs federal prosecutors to prioritize investigations into crimes on planes

       This week, a federal grand jury in Alexandria indicted Elias Fethamlk, 40, on charges of interfering with flight crew members and attendants and simple assault.

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       The incident occurred on Dec. 2 aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Dublin to Washington. As the plane was descending, Fethamlk allegedly approached the flight cabin supervisor and asked for white and red wine, according to an affidavit by FBI special agent Keith E. Palli. When the flight cabin supervisor requested that he return to his seat and prepare for landing, Fethamlk insulted the flight cabin supervisor and attempted to take her picture. The flight cabin supervisor tried to cover her face, but Fethamlk grabbed her by her wrists and pushed her up against the cabin entry door, according to the affidavit.

       Fethamlk returned to his seat only when the pilot “verbally warned” him to do so, according to the affidavit.

       He was met by Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police officers on the jet bridge and detained at the gate. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

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       Less than a month later, on Dec. 24, 26-year-old Ivan Lopez Jr. was flying from Las Vegas to Washington on a United Airlines aircraft when a woman seated next to him fell asleep. The woman allegedly woke up to “the feeling of someone rubbing up and down her right breast,” which she described as “not accidental” because the touching was repetitive and over a period of approximately 10 seconds, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Douglas Mohl.

       The woman said she yelled “get away from me” at Lopez when she realized what was happening. At that point, Lopez moved to the back of the aircraft and admitted to a flight attendant that he had sexually assaulted the woman sitting next to him and said he was sorry, according to the affidavit. He also told the flight attendant that he had a disability.

       During an interview with the FBI later that day at Dulles, Lopez said that he had wanted to get the woman’s attention by poking her right shoulder so that he could ask what she was listening to through her headphones. He said turbulence explained why he missed her shoulder and “accidentally poked her breast,” according to the court documents.

       Lopez is charged with abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft in flight. His attorney did not respond to request for comment.

       Neither United Airlines nor Ethiopian Airlines immediately responded to requests for comment.