A woman who was arrested on an American Airlines flight after lighting a cigarette , blaming somebody else then ranting about Obama can be revealed as a Penn State professor of sociology . Dr Karen Halnon , 52 , who wrote her PhD thesis on hysterical women , was arrested on board the plane for disorderly conduct as it sat on the tarmac at Miami International Airport on Saturday . She was caught on camera lighting up shortly after the flight had landed - but stubbed it out and thrust the butt into a seat pocket when flight attendants came over . She 's an expert : Dr Karen Halnon , left in her police mugshot and right in a faculty photo , is an associate in sociology at a Penn State campus . She then pointed at the man in a seat next to her when challenged over her behavior - before launching into a pro-communist rant attacking the United States for applying economic sanctions on Venezuela . According to NBC , police were called aboard the flight , which had come from Nicaragua , and tried to calm her down , but were met with the response : ' F*** you . This is not a democracy ' . She was arrested for disorderly conduct and jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center . A statement from Penn State on Tuesday confirmed that Halnon is a member of staff . It said : 'Penn State Abington is aware of Dr. Karen Halnon ’ s behavior this past weekend on a flight from Nicaragua and is looking into the matter . ' She teaches sociology at the school 's Abington campus near Philadelphia , and has the rank of associate professor . According to her faculty page she is an expert on capitalism , Latin America and mad women . Smoking : Halnon is seen smoking on board the flight , in a video uploaded to Youtube and posted on Reddit . Was n't me : When fellow flyers flagged down a flight attendant to complain about her unruly behavior , Halnon blamed someone else for smoking and went on a bizarre rant . Dr Halnon was award her PhD from Boston College in 1995 with a thesis about treatments for women and hysteria . She has two published books , and more than 25 journal articles to her name . In her political rant about the flight she explored her political beliefs , equating the United States 's tough economic sanctions against Venezuela with a declaration of war . She also cited Hugo Chavez as a 'hero ' of hers , and allegedly said that Obama 'kills people on Tuesdays ' . She shouted : 'The United States has declared war on Venezuela . Venezuela has been declared a national security threat . ' 'You 're a national security threat , ' a passenger remarked off camera . 'She 's gangster ' another passenger said laughing . Flight attendants warned the woman that the police would be waiting for her once the plane landed if she did n't calm down , according to The Daily Dot . So she yelled louder . She ranted : 'Venezuela previously owned the oil in Venezuela . My great hero Hugo Chavez nationalized the oil supply so that people with all of the oil ... not Exon Mobil would go away ! ' Bizarrely , she shouted : 'The people own the oil . ' According to an eyewitness , the woman added that U.S. President Barack Obama 'kills people on Tuesdays . ' After another warning by a flight attendant the woman protested : ' I know already the [ police are coming to take me off the aircraft . ] But before I 'm arrested I 'm going to say my peace . 'They already say they are arresting me so I 'm going to tell you more , ' she told passengers while unbuckling her seat belt and standing up . Her illegal deed was caught on camera by a flyer who then posted the video to YouTube and website Reddit . The redditor , with the user name 'upside down dog , ' alleged that he was on the same flight as the woman when he recorded her . Calm down : A flight attendant , right , warned Halnon that the police would be waiting for her once the plane landed if she did n't calm down . They were . Rant : 'They already say they are arresting me so I 'm going to tell you more , ' she told passengers while unbuckling her seat belt and standing up . He wrote : 'While the plane was waiting on the tarmac for the police to arrive , she leans over to me and asks for a cigarette . 'She pulls one out of her bag and lights up . This is the point where I pull eject and run to the back of the cabin . The police arrive after 20 minutes and escort her off the plane . 'She only had a single drink on the plane ( however , others told me she was pounding them back pretty hard in the terminal and she also was on prescription painkillers ) . 'The irony is that this sociology professor is focused mainly on women ’ s hysteria . Due to this , Customs was closed just long enough that me and most others on that flight missed our connection . Smoking has been strictly prohibited on almost all airlines since 1988 . Passengers found to be smoking on non-smoking flights can face a fine up to $ 5,000 and be arrested and detained upon landing .
Dr Karen Halnon , meanwhile , was incarcerated at Miami ##mouth Airport Saturday . Was arrested for disorderly conduct after smoking and ranting . Shouted about her love of Hugo Chavez and ' accused her of rape ' Halnon teaches sociology , and her thesis was about hysterical women .