Pastor banned from airline after he ‘hit epileptic wife in the head’ when she received first-class upgrade and he didn’t

A VIRGINIA pastor was arrested after striking his wife on a plane.

On July 2, Roger Allan Holmberg, Sr., who previously served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Temple in Anchorage, and his wife, Patti, were on a flight from Washington to Alaska when the violent incident occurred.

Facebook/ Roger Allan Holmberg

Facebook/ Roger Allan Holmberg Fan Club

Holmberg reportedly hit his wife during the flight on their way to an event related to their ministry and potential housing opportunities for religious missions, according to local newspaper Alaska News Source .

What started the issues, according to witnesses, was that Patti was upgraded to first class while he wasn’t.

Patti was upgraded based on her mileage points and status as a member for the airline .

Witnesses told local ABC affiliate WVEC-TV that they heard Holmberg ask his wife, “How the hell did you get the upgrade?”

“I’m a Gold Point member,” she responded.

“Don’t speak to me like that,” she said to Holmberg.

After that out-loud exchange, Holmberg reportedly handed his phone to his wife from the aisle, telling her to read what was on it, according to the complaint.

Shortly after handing her the phone, witnesses say that Holmberg struck his wife in the top of the head.

“[Roger] wanted me to read something on his cell phone, so I just glanced over his phone, and I gave it right back to him, and then he sat down,” she explained to police in her interview after her husband’s arrest, according to the criminal complaint.

“And then a few moments later, he got back up and hit me on the head,” she continued.

Patti, who has epilepsy , could’ve gone into a seizure in mid-air after her husband struck her in the head – something Patti says he is well aware of.

Another witness told airport police that the husband got up from his seat and went to the first-class bathroom after striking his wife as if nothing happened.

But when he came out, witnesses on the flight confronted him.

“If there were any further incidents, we would put him in handcuffs,” one witness told the outlet.

Statement from Alaska Airlines

“Mr. Holmberg has been banned from our flights and a simple assault charge was filed against him by the U.S. Gov’t. (FBI) on July 3rd.”

Source: News13

Holmberg was arrested and charged with simple assault and taken to the Anchorage Correctional Center upon landing.

In her interview with airport police after the incident, Patti detailed how her husband struck her in the head with the back of his knuckles.

She also claimed he had a history of abusing her and had previously broken her finger back in September during another dispute.

“I can’t continue on this way,” Patti Holmberg told police.

“I wish more women could stand up for themselves and just say that person is not worth my time,” she said, encouraging other women to walk away from abusive situations.

“You know, I love him, but I love him enough to let him go,” Patti said.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to the FBI and Alaska Airlines for comment.