Bruce Alexander, Who Groped Woman On Southwest Airlines Flight, Tells Police ‘President Trump Says It’s OK’

A man who reportedly groped a woman during a flight told authorities when he was arrested that the President of the United States himself said that it is okay to grab women by their private parts.

According to The Huffington Post, the man, who was identified as Bruce Michael Alexander, was likely referring to a remark made by Donald Trump in a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording wherein he said that he could grab women by their sexual organ.

A complaint filed on Monday alleges that Alexander made abusive sexual contact with a female passenger while onboard a Southwest Airlines plane flying from Texas to New Mexico.

The complaint alleged that Alexandard touched the woman’s breast without permission.

According to the the female passenger, she fell asleep during the flight and woke up to a man sitting in the row behind her lifting up her sweater and touching her skin around the bra line.

She initially thought that it was an accident but in less than an hour, she felt the same man grab her arm and grab her right side around her ribs and bra line.

The woman then stood up, turned around and confronted the man. She asked him why he thought it was alright to touch her and told him to stop. She then asked asked a crew member to give her a seat somewhere else.

Alexander was arrested and taken into police custody when the plane landed.

The complaint said that after Alexander was placed under police custody, he asked the cops about the sentence for the charge he was being arrested for.

The complaint also alleged that while in the police vehicle, Alexander told the officers that the President of the United States himself has said that it is okay to grab women by their private parts.

In 2016, then Republican candidate Donald Trump faced backlash after a tape emerged of him bragging about using his fame to seduce women, and groping them without having to wait for their consent.

“When you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump said in the recording, according to The Guardian. “You can do anything.”

Trump later issued an apology for his lewd remarks.

Alexander appeared before a a federal court in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Monday and remains in federal custody pending preliminary and detention hearings scheduled on Tuesday.

If found guilty, Alexander faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000.