It has come to light that a lawsuit has accused a Southwest Airlines employee of discriminating against a Black family that was traveling through Portland International Airport (PDX) in August last year. The alleged incident, as reported by KATU, suggests that the employee humiliated the DeWeese family when traveling from Portland to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), as one of the party was checking a firearm.

The father was advised that he must return to the ticket counter, as there was an issue that had been raised for traveling with a firearm. The rest of the DeWeese family continued to the boarding gate, where the gate agent, Melissa Stallcup, was yelling out for the family. According to the claim, at this time, Stallcup loudly stated that none of the family would be boarding as one of the sisters was carrying a gun.

Southwest Airlines Gate Agent Claims That The Father Was In Police Custody

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When the sister corrected the gate agent and explained that the father was at the ticket counter to fix the issue, the gate agent then falsely told the family that the father was in police custody. When the father returned to the gate, all his daughters were scared, stressed, and upset due to the treatment from Stallcup.

Defending his daughters, Mr. DeWeese questioned the gate agent, and Stallcup was quick to respond that he “wasn’t going to pop off at her” before then stating that “you guys” always make it about race. The family was in disbelief at these comments, and a lawsuit was filed by local Portland attorneys Greg and Jason Kafoury on August 11, in which the family is seeking $1.2 million in damages.

In addition to the racial comments, the lawsuit also claimed that the daughters had not paid a fee to carry the family cat onboard the aircraft to New Orleans. Simple Flying has reached out to Southwest for comments on the matter, and the airline responded that they are unable to comment due to ongoing litigation.

Gate Confrontation Leads To $1.2 Million Lawsuit.

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The DeWeese family is now being represented and looks to sue the Dallas-based low-cost carrier for humiliation and the unexpected discrimination. Filed in Multnomah County, the court documents state that the father had properly declared and checked his firearm before proceeding to the gate.

During the time the father was at the ticket counter to resolve the issue that was raised with the gun, the verbal actions by Stallcup, which called out the family’s name at the gate, left them embarrassed and made several untrue statements. In addition, the claim that the daughter had not paid the fee for the cat to travel was allegedly false, with the airline’s own policy outlining that small vaccinated pets were allowed in the cabin for a fee of $125 in each direction, provided the carrier fits under the seat in front of the passenger.

For the DeWeese family, its lawsuit is based on the legal protections, as per the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, under which the state’s revised statute § 659A.403 bars any place of public accommodation from discriminating against individuals or restricting full and equal access based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Federal aviation law 49 U.S.C. § 40127(a) also prohibits US and foreign air carriers from subjecting any passenger in air transportation to discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry. ​

Southwest Airlines Operations From Portland, Oregon

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Portland is the busiest airport in the state of Oregon, and accounts for around 90% of all the state’s passenger air travel. While the airport is a hub for Alaska Airlines, which, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, dominates 30.2% of all flight operations, Southwest remains the second-largest operator at the airport with a 13.6% market share. From PDX, Southwest flies to the following destinations as of August 2026:

Just this month, Southwest added Long Beach (LGB) once again to its network from Portland, resuming the city pair on August 4 and operating six days per week.