Thread: Sen. Rand Paul ‘detained’ by TSA in Nashville, TSA denies

Sen. Rand Paul ‘detained’ by TSA in Nashville, TSA denies

By Matthew Boyle - The Daily Caller Published: 10:16 AM 01/23/2012 | Updated: 12:13 PM 01/23/2012


Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s press secretary Moira Bagley tweeted on Monday that Transportation Security Administration officials were detaining her boss in Nashville, Tenn.

“Just got a call from @senrandpaul,” Bagley tweeted at about 10 a.m. on Monday. “He’s currently being detained by TSA in Nashville.”

Texas Congressman and current Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul – Sen. Rand Paul’s father – placed a post on Facebook about the news as well. “My son Rand is currently being detained by the TSA at the Nashville Airport,” Ron Paul posted. “I’ll share more details as the situation unfolds.”

Ron Paul adds, via Twitter, that the TSA detained his son “for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner.”

Sen. Rand Paul’s Facebook page has a post about the incident too. “Senator Paul is being detained at the Nashville Airport by the TSA,” Sen. Rand Paul’s Facebook post reads. “We will update you as the situation develops.”

Sen. Rand Paul’s chief of staff Doug Stafford told The Daily Caller the Senator “was detained by the TSA after their scanner had an ‘anomaly’ on the first scan.”

“He offered to go through again,” Stafford said in an email. “The TSA said he could only have a full body pat down. He would not consent to it. He offered to go through the scanner again. The situation is ongoing.”

Sen. Rand Paul has previously referred to the TSA’s use of full body pat downs as the “universality of insult,” and he called on the agency to end the tactic.

“I think you ought to get rid of the random pat-downs,” Sen. Rand Paul said in June 2011. “The American public is unhappy with them, they’re unhappy with the invasiveness of them.”

Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, have not returned requests for comment.

UPDATE 11:35 a.m.:

The TSA says Sen. Rand Paul “was not detained at any point” but “triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and refused to complete the screening process in order to resolve the issue.”

“Passengers, as in this case, who refuse to comply with security procedures are denied access to the secure gate area,” the TSA adds. “He was escorted out of the screening area by local law enforcement.”

“The passenger was screened by millimeter wave imaging technology using automated target recognition,” the TSA continues. “This technology uses the same generic image for all passengers to further protect passengers privacy. When an alarm occurs a yellow box indicates where an anomaly is. A targeted pat down is used to resolve the alarm.”

TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy told The Daily Caller that “when an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport. Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling.”

UPDATE 12:10 p.m.

Sen. Rand Paul’s chief of staff Doug Stafford responded to the TSA’s claim that the senator was “not detained at any point.” “Well, I don’t know what bureaucrat manuals call it, but: an innocent American citizen who was offering to cooperate while also attempting to stop an invasive search was not allowed to proceed without complying,” Stafford said in an email to TheDC.

Source: TSA | Rand Paul | Senator | The Daily Caller

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NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul was held by TSA officials at Nashville International Airport Monday morning after an "irregularity" was found during the security screening process.

Paul lives in Bowling Green, KY., and is the son of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. Aides to the senator said Sen. Paul set off a full body scanning machine going through airport security.

Sen. Paul claimed it was a "glitch" and wanted to keep going. An aide told NBC News that Sen. Paul told the screeners he doesn't have any metal. Apparently it was his right leg that was setting off the scanner. He raised his pant leg and showed them his leg, according to the aide. Paul said it was "clearly a glitch."

The aide said TSA refused to let him re-scan and demanded that he submit to a full body pat down. The TSA said in a news release that "the passenger" was rebooked on another flight and was rescreened without incident. Sen. Paul has previously been critical about pat downs at a hearing.

Below is a statement released by TSA about the incident: "The passenger was not detained at any point. The passenger triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and refused to complete the screening process in order to resolve the issue. Passengers, as in this case, who refuse to comply with security procedures are denied access to the secure gate area. He was escorted out of the screening area by local law enforcement. The passenger was screened by millimeter wave imaging technology using automated target recognition. This technology uses the same generic image for all passengers to further protect passengers privacy. When an alarm occurs a yellow box indicates where an anomaly is. A targeted pat down is used to resolve the alarm."

Source: Sen. Rand Paul stopped by TSA at Nashville Airport - WSMV Channel 4

RELATED

White House sides with TSA in Rand Paul standoff

By Keith Laing - 01/23/12 01:24 PM ET

The White House is standing by the Transportation Security Administration in its standoff with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his father, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas)

The elder Paul called the TSA a "police state" Monday after Sen. Paul was reportedly detained by TSA after he refused to take a pat-down from TSA officials at the Nashville International Airport.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he didn't have any reaction to Paul's comment about "police state."

But Carney sided with the TSA saying, "I think it is absolutely essential that we take necessary actions to ensure that air travel is safe."

Rep. Paul, who is one of four remaining Republican candidates for president, disagreed Monday afternoon. Paul said after he confirmed the incident involving Sen. Paul on his Twitter page that it showed why the TSA should be eliminated.

"The police state in this country is growing out of control," the elder Paul said in a statement released by his presidential campaign.

"One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities," he continued. "The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe. “That is why my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in federal spending in one year, eliminates the TSA."

TSA has defended its treatment of Sen. Paul, saying that its employees in Nashville followed its normal procedure with the senator, who has often sharply criticized the agency's pat-downs before he refused one Monday morning.

"When an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport," the agency said Monday in a written statement. "Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling."

U.S. security officials denied that Sen. Paul was held by the agency. Instead, they said the senator was escorted out of the security area after his refusal to accept a pat-down after his trip through one of the agency's X-ray machines caused issues.

Both Pauls have been vocal critics of the TSA, calling for the controversial agency to be disbanded.

TSA said in a statement that "the passenger," Sen. Paul, "has since rebooked on another flight and was rescreened without incident."

Amie Parnes contributed to this report.

254 Comments

White House sides with TSA in Rand Paul standoff - The Hill's Transportation Report

The law is the law and no one is above it. If the law gets changed fine, but until then we all must be treated equally.

Originally Posted by MW

The law is the law and no one is above it. If the law gets changed fine, but until then we all must be treated equally.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm quite certain Barack Obama or Janet Napolitano would have not gotten the same treatment.

Originally Posted by MW

The law is the law and no one is above it. If the law gets changed fine, but until then we all must be treated equally.

That's right remember that next time one of them puts their hand down your young child or grandchild's pants, or teenage daughter or sons, or what about elderly parents even if they are wheel chair bound. And since you think it is okay because "it is the law" down yours that shouldn't matter at all, you can volunteer for the thousands that don't want it done to them. Now remember this as well, if you wear a burka or muslim garb well you can just go right on through, the law doesn't apply there...but hey the law is the law right.

1.23.2012

Passengers who Refuse Screening are Denied Access to the Secure Area

Earlier today, Senator Rand Paul raised some questions about the screening process after going through one of TSA’s millimeter wave body scanners that use automated target recognition (ATR) technology. The ATR software displays a the same generic image for all passengers to further protect passengers privacy.

The benefit of automated target recognition is that when a passenger alarms, the officer can look at the generic image to see where the alarm is and then do a targeted pat down to clear the area. For example, if the alarm shows that something might be in your cargo pocket, the officer will pat down the area around your pocket to determine what caused the alarm.

When a passenger or bag alarms in screening technology at a TSA checkpoint, the alarm has to be resolved before the passenger can enter the secure area past the checkpoint. Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process can’t be granted access to the secure area. TSA notifies law enforcement when this happens, and law enforcement officers can escort them out of the checkpoint. This isn’t done to punish the passenger– it’s done to ensure that every person who gets on a plane is screened appropriately.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

The TSA Blog: Passengers who Refuse Screening are Denied Access to the Secure Area

Ron Paul | TSA | Rand Paul | The Daily Caller


Ron Paul on son’s detention by TSA: ‘Police state’ is ‘growing out of control’

By Steven Nelson - The Daily Caller Published: 12:29 PM 01/23/2012 | Updated: 1:00 PM 01/23/2012



By Steven Nelson - The Daily Caller
Bio |


Sen. Rand Paul with his father, Rep. Ron Paul. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.



Texas Rep. Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement in reaction to the detention of his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, by Transportation Security Administration agents in Nashville on Monday.
“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” Paul wrote in a statement provided to The Daily Caller. “One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our kids and our seniors and does nothing to keep us safe.”
Paul has been a vocal critic of the TSA, and is the sponsor of the “American Traveler Dignity Act,” which would remove TSA agents’ immunity from prosecution for implementing invasive pat-down procedures.
In Paul’s Monday statement, he noted, “my ‘Restore America Plan,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in one year, eliminates the TSA.”
“We must restore the freedom and respect for liberty that once made America the greatest nation in human history,” he continued. “I am deeply committed to doing so as president of the United States.”
Rand Paul was detained on Monday after refusing a pat-down by TSA agents while attempting to board a flight to Washington, D.C.
Follow Steven on Twitter



Read more: Ron Paul | TSA | Rand Paul | The Daily Caller

TSA Directly Violated US Constitution By Detaining Senator Rand Paul

Steve Watson
Infowars.com
January 23, 2012

In preventing Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from flying to Washington this morning, the TSA directly violated the law as written in the US Constitution.


The Constitution specifically protects federal lawmakers from being detained while en route to Washington DC.

Article I, Section 6 states:

“The Senators and Representatives…shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same….”

Rand Paul was travelling from his home in Louisville to attend a session in the Senate today.

This is the reason that TSA officials have since put out the talking point in the media that Rand Paul was never officially detained, despite the fact that the Senator himself confirmed that he was told to sit in a cubicle and wait without any indication of when he would be allowed to leave.

The Senate is back in session at 2 p.m., and votes are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Senator Paul was allowed to board a second flight after a separate screening by TSA agents, however, it remains to be seen whether he will make it to the capital in time.

» TSA Directly Violated US Constitution By Detaining Senator Rand Paul Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

Flashback: Ron Paul Groped by TSA

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
January 23, 2012

Rand Paul was not the only member of his family to be targeted by the TSA. In 2010, his father told Alex Jones that he was also molested by the TSA.



“I have to go through that all the time because I have metal in my knees,” he told Jones. “I get prodded all the time and it is disgusting and I tell them so.”

When asked by Alex Jones if the TSA had subjected him to an “enhanced” screening, Ron Paul answered yes.

“Specifically,” Alex asked, “have you had the enhanced pat down, sir? Have they touched your crotch?”
Yes. Absolutely, and like I said, absolutely disgusting,” Paul responded.

The interview with Ron Paul aired on November 23, 2010.

» Flashback: Ron Paul Groped by TSA Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

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