Louisiana tourists allegedly tried to bribe Hawaii airport screener to avoid COVID regulations

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

Two tourists from Louisiana were arrested in Hawaii this week after they allegedly attempted to bribe airport screeners in disregard of the state’s mandatory COVID-19 guidelines.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry will not return to royal roles, palace confirms

According to reports, Friday, Johntrell White, 29, and Nadia Bailey, 28, were arrested after they arrived in Hawaii without their mandatory COVID-19 pre-test or a valid exemption.

Both the Department of Public Safety and the state attorney general’s office have made it explicitly clear that entering the state without proper documentation is strictly prohibited. But White and Bailey seemingly believed they could circumvent those regulations.

Officials claim White offered to pay an airport screener $2K if they were allowed to leave the airport without having to quarantine. That’s when Bailey allegedly chimed in that she would throw in an additional $1K to sweeten the pot.

The airport employee was unmoved by the monetary compensation and immediately alerted authorities, resulting in both White and Bailey being arrested and charged with bribery. Once the duo was released they were immediately flown back to the mainland.

Hawaii, which has always been a popular tourist destination reopened to tourists in October with a set of strict travel rules meant to protect residents from unnecessary exposure to the virus. The current guidelines only allow travelers to bypass the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine period if they produce documentation of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their flight.

Authorities say that the same day that White and Bailey were taken into custody, another tourist, Anthony Johnson, 44, was also arrested and charged with violating quarantine guidelines.

READ MORE: Beyonce teams up with Adidas to provide relief for Texans amid storm

Friday, state authorities confirmed that the Michigan man bypassed showing up at his designated place of quarantine and checked into another hotel against quarantine rules. But Johnson was later tracked down to a boat ramp and arrested with his bail set at $2K.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!