For what it is worth, (and it is only one side of the story as the defendant has lawyered up and refuses to go on record, which is telling), the mother of this child said in an interview that the man appeared intoxicated when she boarded, was belligerent towards her from the start, and she spent most of the flight standing in the rear of the plane trying to comfort her child who apparently was having difficulty equalizing pressure.
I am assuming that the child is adopted as both parents are white, but that is immaterial. The fact that an obviously racist drunk decided his best action was to assault a woman, (leaning over and yelling in her ear), and a two-year old child , (striking him),indicates that he has issues. Hayden ID, his home town, is a stronghold of white supremacists and other extreme fascist organizations. I wonder if the father, who is a formidable looking guy, had been present the coward would have had the same course of action. But then most racists are cowards, and prefer the helpless and weak for targets as it supports their desire for feeling superior without risk.