A 49-year-old Florida man named Bruce Michael Alexander allegedly groped a woman twice on a flight from Houston to Albuquerque on Sunday afternoon and then justified his assault to federal agents by arguing that the president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.

According to the criminal complaint filed in a New Mexico district court, the victim said she had fallen asleep on the flight and felt a touch on her sweater around her “bra line” from Alexander, who was sitting behind her. The woman, who is not named in the complaint, initially assumed it was a mistake. Around half an hour later, she felt Alexander “slowly and ‘attentively’” grope her again. At this point, she asked to change seats, and the Southwest Airlines flight attendants requested that law enforcement meet them when the plane landed.

Alexander denied committing the assault when interviewed by law enforcement, but officers noticed that he had thick fingers that appeared to be hairy and dirty fingernails, which matched the description that the victim had given them. Later, while handcuffed in a police vehicle, Alexander made the comment about the president.

In October 2016, during the presidential campaign, the Washington Post famously obtained a behind-the-scenes tape of Donald Trump on a 2005 appearance on “Access Hollywood” saying, “Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the p—y.”

Alexander made an initial appearance in federal court on Monday on charges of abusive sexual contact. If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.

While flight attendants are usually equipped to handle straightforward violent assault, airlines have struggled to set policies and adequately train staff for mid-air sexual assault, Slate found in 2016. The FBI reported in June that sexual assaults on planes are rising “at an alarming rate.” The bureau’s investigations into such incidents rose 66 percent from 2014 to 2017.