They didnt go too far at all.
The skyMarshal said Bizarro[aptly named] gave a thumbs up to another passenger.
BAM...end of story.
It is not the responsibility of the skyMarshal to discern the intent of the thumbs up....once it happened...the planes cabin was properly frozen in place.
Bravo to the skyMarshals.
Have you seen the earnings statements of the airlines recently? I'm not flying anymore.
You are assuming that the sky marshals are telling the truth. To whom did he give the thumbs up to? That person should have been arrested too. Or did he just give the thumbs up to the flight attendant? Did he nod his head or speak to anyone on his way back to his seat? Or is that against the law too.
Maybe we should just cut off all flyers thumbs before they get in the plane? Ya know, an ounce of prevention and all that.
I wasn't there but from what I read maybe the marshal should have walked over to the dude, told him he was a jerk and on the verge of getting a wing seat or an extra pie hole. The whole hands on the head, et al, routine seems a bit over the top...