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“But the rules are very clear. A two year old MUST be held on a parents lap for the duration of the flight”

Age two is the demark, where tickets are required, at least for Delta:

Delta web site:
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/special-travel-needs/children.html

Ticketing Requirements

No Ticket Required
You may travel with one1 infant in your lap without purchasing a ticket if:
the infant is less than two years old, and
you are at least 18 years old or the infant's legal guardian, and
your travel is within the U.S.2
Ticket Required
You'll need to purchase a ticket for your child when you:
have a child that is age two or older.
have a child that turns age two during a trip — a reserved seat and ticket are required for the entire journey.
prefer the child to sit in a seat with an approved restraint.
have a second child, regardless of age, and you already have a child who will be sitting in your lap.1
want your child to earn miles for a SkyMiles account.
will be traveling between countries, regardless of whether or not the child occupies a seat.
Child Fares & Special Discounts

Travel Within U.S.
Delta does not offer discounted infant and child fares within the U.S.

You'll need to purchase a ticket for your child when you:

have a child that is age two or older.
have a child that turns age two during a trip — a reserved seat and ticket are required for the entire journey.
prefer the child to sit in a seat with an approved restraint.

And there we go.

In Delta's own words.

prefer the child to sit in a seat with an approved restraint.

Well, there you go. The stew was wrong saying that children over 2 must be held on their parents lap for the endurance of the flight. Clearly the rules say children are entitled to their own seat. So that's settled. And whoever made the 'jail and kids taken' comment needs a new career, union or no.

I think the confusion in the story is how the father communicated to the airline that his younger son would be occupying seat originally for the older son, and whether the tickets were changed at check-in or via phone when he re-booked the older son's ticket on a separate flight, or what exactly happened. Who was called first, operations to try to verify, or the popo? Someone came back and told the father that they could sit on the runway for 5 hours, so it's not like they were saying they didn't have time to double check what he was saying.