A Monroe man who missed his Spirit Airlines flight out of Detroit Metro has admitted to phoning in a fake bomb threat that shut the whole thing down, canceling the Los Angeles-bound trip and triggering a full security sweep at the airport.
John Charles Robinson, 23, of Monroe, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to charges tied to a June 5, 2025 hoax that forced Spirit to cancel Flight 2145 at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and disrupted travel across DTW. Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, prosecutors say Robinson called Spirit Airlines at about 6:25 a.m. on June 5, 2025 and told staff there's gonna be someone who's gonna try to blow up the airport, specifically naming Flight 2145 to Los Angeles. An affidavit cited in the release says he described a supposed suspect and claimed an explosive device could be carried through TSA checkpoints. Investigators later traced the call to Robinson's phone number and matched it to his ticket for that flight.
The call set off a chain reaction at DTW. Spirit canceled Flight 2145, passengers were ordered off the plane, and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in while FBI agents swept the aircraft. No explosives were found, investigators reported. Robinson had been booked on that flight but missed it, and he was arrested when he returned to DTW and tried to board a later flight, as reported by CBS Detroit.
Charges and plea
Federal prosecutors say Robinson has now admitted to two serious counts: providing false information or hoaxes, and using a cellphone to maliciously convey false information about an attempt to damage or destroy an airplane by means of an explosive. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18 in federal court, according to ClickOnDetroit.
Legal context
Hoax threats about bombs are not treated as a prank under federal law. The statute 18 U.S.C. § 1038 makes it a crime to convey false information about explosives that could reasonably be believed, with penalties of up to five years in prison and harsher terms if serious injury or death results. The same law also allows judges to order defendants to reimburse local governments or private responders for the emergency costs generated by such hoaxes, according to law.cornell.edu.
What’s next
Robinson is set to return to federal court on Aug. 18 for sentencing, where the judge will weigh his guilty plea, federal sentencing guidelines and any restitution tied to the costly emergency response, per ClickOnDetroit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hank Moon and Douglas Salzenstein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case, according to an earlier June release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The guilty plea resolves the initial criminal case, but the final punishment will be set at sentencing.
