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Passenger Arrested in New Mexico for Refusing to Present ID to TSA

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This story really makes my blood boil.

A passenger scheduled to fly from Albuquerque to Seattle politely refused to show his identification to a TSA officer. The TSA officer called a supervisor. The supervisor came over and the passenger used his digital camera (which he had already verified with the airport was okay to do) to start recording the interaction. The supervisor freaked out and called the airport police. The airport police showed up and quickly arrested the passenger for "disturbing the peace."

The passenger was taken to the police station and later charged with:

  1. concealing identity
  2. disorderly conduct
  3. refusing to obey an officer
  4. criminal trespass

Bail was set at $1,000. The passenger eventually raised the bail and has returned to Seattle with a court date set.

I have contemplated doing something like this before, but have been unwilling to set aside the time to deal with the possible ramifications of my actions (jail time for example). I’d still like to, though. Maybe this winter…

I will keep you updated on this situation and leave with you the following questions: While I understand and appreciate why airlines would want to see my ID (for ticket verification purposes), how does it make us any safer to have the TSA verify our IDs when going through screening? Isn’t it true that we all go through a metal detector anyway? Didn’t the 9-11 hijackers have valid IDs?

I despise our move toward East German/Soviet style control of movement in the United States. I hope this incident will spur a re-examination of the way we think about airport security.

About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120 countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying international relations, American government, and later obtaining a law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House. His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles. Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the direction and coordination of company travel.

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2 Comments

  1. kylemore Reply

    IANAL, so feel free to completely disregard if you want, but is it in your best interest to state beforehand that you are hoping to trigger an arrest or confrontation? It probably would have no bearing on the outcome of any “test” case, but if you are serious it might be better to be safe.

    I completely agree with Phil’s actions and your post btw. The government has no legitimate reason to know about or involve itself in its citizens’ domestic travel movements.

  2. Matthew Reply

    @kylemore: I’m just a lawyer in training, but it seems to me that clearly laying out what I am going to do beforehand may bolster my case. I can argue, “Look. I said I was going to do this experiment because I fundamentally believe that TSA ID policy is unconstitutional and I am willing to face the consequences for defying this policy.”

    Who knows, though…

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