14 DAY TRIAL // 19-year-old William Hilton Paul is facing underage drinking charges after being apprehended at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.
Paul, the son of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, allegedly had several drinks while being a passenger on a U.S. Airways flight. NY Daily News details that he had consumed beer and wine.
His disruptive behavior ended in charges by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. He was flying in from Lexington, Kentucky, reports say.
“He was possibly served alcohol on the flight,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department commented, according to ABC News.
The teenager from Bowling Green, Kentucky, was charged with misdemeanors for acting in a disruptive manner on the plane while intoxicated, underage consumption and disorderly conduct.
He was apprehended at 10:49 a.m. on Saturday, January 5 at Charlotte airport, as soon as the plane landed. During questioning, he allegedly identified himself as being the lawmaker's son.
He was then booked and held at Mecklenburg County Jail on $750 (€570) bond, which he made a few hours later.
The Senator's office, represented by Rand Paul's Communications Director Moira Bagley, issued a statement asking for privacy to settle the matter.
“Sen. Paul is a national public figure and subject to scrutiny in the public arena, however, as many parents with teenagers would understand, his family should be afforded the privacy and respect they deserve in a situation such as this,” the statement reads.
Senator Paul was scheduled to embark on a flight to Israel on Sunday, January 6. He is a newly appointed member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Politics is a tradition in the Paul family, previously represented by Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul, the Senator's father and William Hilton's grandfather. A congressman for Texas, he ran for presidency in 1988, 2008 and in this year's elections.