Marlon Wayans was charged over a gate dispute on a United Airlines flight. It was dismissed after he said he was racially profiled.

• Marlon Wayans said a United Airlines employee discriminated against him in a new court filing.
• Wayans had been charged with disturbing the peace after a dispute over his luggage in June.

Prosecutors have dismissed charges against actor Marlon Wayans related to a June dispute with a United Airlines employee after the comedian said he was targeted because of his race.

In June, an airline employee said Wayans would not be allowed on a flight because of how many personal items he tried to bring on the plane. As a result, Wayans was cited for disturbing the peace, a municipal violation, police said.

Attorneys for the actor and comedian, who is Black, argued Thursday that racial profiling played a role in why he wasn't allowed on the plane, per a court filing Thursday. A day later, prosecutors moved to dismiss the case.

Following the accusations of racial profiling, Denver prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed. His attorney, David M. Beller, told CBS Colorado the judge granted the prosecutor's request.

"The City Of Denver finally did what United Airlines has been asking - dismiss this case…Our community does not need one more innocent Black man wrongfully accused and wrongfully convicted," Beller told the publication. "I hope this inspires everyone to be more aware of their own implicit and explicit bias."

According to the Thursday court filing, a United Airlines gate agent told him he could not get on a flight to Kansas City with three bags. The gate agent tried to physically block Wayans from getting on the flight after he consolidated his luggage into two bags to conform with airline policy, the filing said. He boarded anyway and was later asked to leave the plane before it departed.

While Wayans worked to rearrange his luggage, the gate agent kept allowing white passengers with three bags to board the flight, according to the court filing, which included still photos of surveillance video of white passengers with yellow arrows pointing to each of their bags. About 140 people boarded the flight, it said, many with multiple oversized bags that violated the airline's policy.

Following the incident, Wayans took to Instagram, airing out similar frustrations to the ones stated in the court filing. At the time, he did not mention racial profiling.

"Bro claimed I had too many bags so I complied and consolidated them he was like "oh now you have to check that bag" Bye," he wrote in his caption.

Wayans also asked, at the time, that the "rude and wrong" employee face disciplinary action for the incident. Wayans eventually got to his destination on an American Airlines flight.

Wayans' lawyers say the gate agent racially discriminated against him and that Denver prosecutors, by continuing to pursue charges against him, are perpetuating that discrimination and denying his right to equal protection under the law.

"The City of Denver's position is an affront to constitutional and social equity principles," Wayans' lawyers said.

City Attorney Kerry Tipper said her office does not comment on pending cases. United did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

In a statement issued by United in June to questions about what happened to Wayans, the airline said an unnamed customer "pushed past" an employee at the jet bridge and attempted to board the plane.

According to statements recorded on police body camera and cited in the filing, the gate agent told officers that Wayans "shoved," "pushed," or "elbowed" him as the comedian boarded the plane, which Wayans' lawyers say is a lie. They say Wayans may have brushed shoulders with the agent as he boarded.

The police officers who investigated were doubtful that any crime had been committed, according to the filing, but the gate agent asked that charges be pursued.

This year, other people have gone viral online for sharing baggage disputes and frustrations, with airlines providing contradictory views.

In March, Dyana Villa complained about not being able to bring her carry-on luggage because Frontier Airlines employees said it would not fit. Villa said this was untrue but was not allowed to board the flight.

A different woman, Amira Hamad, sued Frontier Airlines, claiming that the airline was not truthful in advertising what items could and could not be brought as baggage.