After being arrested for groping a female passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight, a Florida man announced that “the President of the United States says it’s ok to grab women by their private parts.”

According to a criminal complaint, Bruce Alexander, a 49-year-old Tampa resident, was a passenger Sunday afternoon on a plane traveling from Houston, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the flight, Alexander allegedly “made sexual contact” with a woman seated directly in front of him.

Investigators charge that Alexander twice reached forward and touched the breast of the female victim. The woman told the FBI after she was touched the second time she stood up and confronted Alexander, saying that he “needed to stop.” At the woman’s request, a flight crew member then moved her to another seat.

Alexander, who was arrested after the flight landed, told agents that he had not been drinking during the trip. He added that “the woman in front of him spoke to him and was then reseated to another part of the aircraft.”

While handcuffed in a squad car, Alexander, who has worked as a heavy equipment operator, asked “what the sentence was for the charge he was being arrested for.” In an affidavit, FBI Agent Michael Hopkins noted that Alexander later “stated that the President of the United States says it’s ok to grab women by their private parts.”

Charged with abusive sexual contact, Alexander faces a maximum of two years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the felony. Alexander remains in custody in advance of a detention hearing scheduled for this morning in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

Alexander is seen above in a mug shot snapped last year after his arrest for drunk driving. He subsequently pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving and was fined, placed on probation, and ordered to attend DUI school.

Alexander is registered to vote from his Tampa residence, but his registration includes no party affiliation.