Air marshal defended by federal officials

PHILADELPHIA - Federal officials are defending the response of a federal air marshal who held his gun on a passenger-filled cabin for 30 minutes after detaining a man on the flight. <br> <br> Several passengers on Saturday&#39;s Delta flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia say they were terrified by the weapons and hadn&#39;t noticed any disturbance. <br> <br> Transportation Security Administration officials say the detained man had been rummaging through other people&#39;s luggage. <br> <br> TSA spokesman Robert Johnson says the marshals on Delta Flight 442 acted ``by the book.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The FBI says the man was released after the flight, when federal prosecutors decided not to press charges. <br> <br> Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge James Lineberger says he thought a gun battle would erupt in the skies, as he sat watching the marshal aim a gun at the coach cabin. <br> <br> He plans to lodge a complaint with the federal agency -- which oversees the nation&#39;s sky marshals -- Tuesday.

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