Judge rules that Southwest failed to follow his order in a flight attendant’s free-speech case

By DAVID KOENIG
AP Airlines Writer

DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge is heaping sanctions on Southwest Airlines for, he says, failing to follow his orders in a case involving a fired flight attendant’s free-speech rights. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr said Southwest acted as if its own policy limiting what employees can say is more important than a federal law protecting religious speech. The judge, who was nominated for the bench by former President Donald Trump, is ordering three Southwest lawyers to undergo “religious-liberty training” from a conservative Christian legal-advocacy group. The case involves a flight attendant who won an $800,000 judgement against Southwest and her union last year.