A federal grand jury returned an indictment on October 5 charging Kelvin R. Portwood with forcibly assaulting two Transportation Security Agency (TSA) Officers at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement.
According to the indictment, Kelvin R. Portwood, 55, of Winchester, Kentucky, was charged with interference with security screening personnel and two counts of forcibly assaulting, resisting, and impeding officers of the United States government. Portwood was charged by criminal complaint and was arrested on September 30, 2022.
The defendant appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Kentucky for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint on October 2, 2022. If convicted, Portwood faces up to 26 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being investigated by the FBI, the TSA, the U.S. Air Marshal Service, and the Louisville Airport Police, with the assistance of the Clark County Kentucky Sheriff’s Office and the Mount Sterling Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Judd.
