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Detained by TSA
In town for a conference, a director of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty is detained by TSA at the St. Louis airport because when asked to explain why he's carrying $4,700 in cash (it was proceeds from book and ticket sales at the conference), he asks the agents to tell him what law requires him to do so. He managed to surreptitiously record his conversations with TSA officers on a cell phone. The audio is infuriating.
Naga Sadow|4.2.09 @ 12:23PM|#
That's why when flying I always wear my baggiest pants so I can stuff them with stuff I know will get past the metal detectors. Money, wallet, etc.
SpongePaul|4.2.09 @ 12:26PM|#
an anonomous FBI plain clothed came up to them and then he was free to go and he made the flight, WTF! was he being watched? and WTF with the abusive agents, what dicks.
|4.2.09 @ 12:44PM|#
The show is Judge Andrew Napolitano's Freedom Watch, shown in foxnews.com every Wednesday as a web cast. Normally it is uploaded to Youtube by the evening, and you can see the link at LewRockwell.com.
Jeff P|4.2.09 @ 12:49PM|#
Waaaaait a sec, Fox News and its stable of punditry has
regularly supported the expansion of TSA's powers, cast aspursions
on anyone who questioned their tactics, and repeatedly endorsed
laws against recording law enforcement officials in any
fashion.
I'd like an explanation, please.
Hugh Akston|4.2.09 @ 12:50PM|#
Wow. When the Executive branch gets ahold of that recording, those agents are going to get a commendation for their brave defense of our nation.
Hugh Akston|4.2.09 @ 12:51PM|#
I'd like an explanation, please.
Fox News, like all corporate entities, is staffed my many different
individuals with many different points of view.
|4.2.09 @ 12:52PM|#
I'd like to think every TSA agent on that tape will at least be
fired. I'd really like them to face criminal prosecution. Why do I
think the most that will happen is one of them will get a paid
vacation?
Say what ever happened to that cop that executed the black kid in
the subway in front of passengers packing cell phones?
Warty|4.2.09 @ 12:52PM|#
We gon' hep yew undastand.
I love that part. Some musician should sample it.
|4.2.09 @ 12:55PM|#
Abuse of power and acting without the support of law should be a termination event, period. Whether it should be a criminal or civil offense is another question, depending on how egregious the misconduct was.
|4.2.09 @ 12:56PM|#
Fox News and its stable of punditry has regularly supported
the expansion of TSA's powers, cast aspursions on anyone who
questioned their tactics, and repeatedly endorsed laws against
recording law enforcement officials in any fashion.
Andrew Napolitano did not do this. He was the constitutionalist
counterpart of Alan Colmes, ie a punching bag the neocon regular
commentators would bring on their shows to claim they were
balanced.
|4.2.09 @ 12:57PM|#
I'd like an explanation, please.
Also, Andrew Napolitano (on the right) has a very big libertarian
streak, and often disagrees vehemently with Bill O'Reilly despite
guest hosting his radio show frequently.
lunchstealer|4.2.09 @ 12:58PM|#
Ugh. I at least get why I was detained the one time. I was on a
watch list because my name is almost as common as "John Smith" (JS
has 79 million hits on google, my name only has 60 million). It's
stupid, but at least I get it - with that many, if they're going to
have watch lists, I'm pretty much guaranteed to be on it (not that
it will do any damn good). At least in theory, the people on the
watch lists might be potential threats to the plane itself, and I
was also detained going through customs, so again I can easily
chalk it up to bureaucratic stupidity.
But WTF security risk does cash pose? What is the transportation
safety justification for their questions?
The answer, of course, is that air travel is just a handy excuse
for a warrantless search. Pesky constitution, getting in the way
all the time.
But...but...wait...|4.2.09 @ 12:59PM|#
You people just don't understand, he could have paid off the
pilot to crash the plane, or he could have converted the dollars to
change and taken out a flight attendent with a roll of
pennies.
Don't worry folks, we'll just have the DEA come in. That's the
great think about the DEA, they can just take your money whether
you actually are suspected of drugs or not.
Robert Enders|4.2.09 @ 1:01PM|#
How much cash do suicide bombers usually carry?
"This $4700 is to pay for dresses for all my virgins."
|4.2.09 @ 1:04PM|#
This is maddening, but not overly surprising. What does surprise
me is to hear the commentators equate this with the government
taking over capitalism. The fascism point is well taken, but if
that is a shot at the current administration, let's keep in mind
that the TSA was not established last month. My fear of fascism
heightened significantly over 6 years ago.
I hope Napolitano will follow up on this and determine whether or
not every participant in that interrogation was fired.
Abdul|4.2.09 @ 1:05PM|#
You have to give Ron Pauls' staffer a lot of credit for being calm and collected during the intense browbeating he was under.
|4.2.09 @ 1:06PM|#
Abuse of power and acting without the support of law should
be a termination event, period.
Unfortunately, that would imply some sort of coherent comprehension
of the actual law, both on the part of those who wrote it, and
those who administer it. Currently, it is a etheral penumbra, which
manifests itself to different individuals in different ways.
|4.2.09 @ 1:07PM|#
You have to give Ron Pauls' staffer a lot of credit for
being calm and collected during the intense browbeating he was
under.
I have to say, there is no possible way I would have been so easy
going about it. Especially if I had a recorder going.
lunchstealer|4.2.09 @ 1:09PM|#
How much you wanna bet that the FBI guy was coming in to say "This guy had Ron Paul stickers - he's probably itching for a lawsuit" rather than "Seriously guys, you're being retarded"?
|4.2.09 @ 1:09PM|#
P Brooks,
This, sadly, the qualifying "should be."
I must join the chorus of people paying respects to the guy's calm
demeanor. I was tempted to yell while just listening.
???|4.2.09 @ 1:10PM|#
"Waaaaait a sec, Fox News and its stable of punditry has
regularly supported the expansion of TSA's powers, cast aspursions
on anyone who questioned their tactics, and repeatedly endorsed
laws against recording law enforcement officials in any
fashion."
[Citation needed}
|4.2.09 @ 1:13PM|#
Fox News and its stable of punditry has regularly
supported the expansion of TSA's powers,
You're absolutely right, some of their commentators had said that
private market security systems failed on 9/11 showing that the
"market" failed to "protect us". However, that begged the question
because the system had very much protected everybody from
gun-blandishing crazies and hijackers for many years and also that
there is nothing to say a government system would not have been
worse.
However, Judge Napolitano has been very critical of the TSA since
its inception. His show is unique in that it espouses libertarian
though much more than some of the regular prime time shows, like
Glenn Beck's.
???|4.2.09 @ 1:13PM|#
"Say what ever happened to that cop that executed the black kid
in the subway in front of passengers packing cell phones?"
Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer were restraining
Grant, who was prostrate and unarmed, when Mehserle stood, drew his
gun and shot Grant once in the back.
Grant died seven hours later in an Oakland hospital.
On January 13, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with
murder for the shooting. Mehserle is the first California police
officer in decades to face murder charges for an on-duty incident.
He resigned his position and pled not guilty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BART_Police_shooting_of_Oscar_Grant
|4.2.09 @ 1:16PM|#
I love that part. Some musician should sample it.
Warty,
Ever hear Steve Reich's Come Out?
That piece was also sampled on a sick Madlib track. If we're going
to have a police state, at least we'll have cool music?
:-/
|4.2.09 @ 1:18PM|#
You have to give [The Campaign for Liberty] staffer a
lot of credit for being calm and [equanimous] during the intense
browbeating he was under.
The kid acted bravely, sticking to his rights.
|4.2.09 @ 1:19PM|#
"Am I free to go?", Obviously this guy has watched the video on how to deal with the cops when they pull you over.
.|4.2.09 @ 1:21PM|#
I've met Mr. Bierfeldt. He not only works for the Campaign for
Liberty, but on his own time has also set up a local affiliate in
the VA suburbs of DC.
They picked on the wrong guy. He reacted exactly how I might have
predicted, after being in his presence for only a few hours.
The Supreme Court heard a case just year (CUELLAR v. UNITED STATES)
on the right to carry large amounts of concealed cash without
automatically being suspected of a crime. They unanimously came
down on the right side.
|4.2.09 @ 1:28PM|#
"""Yo, fuck the surveillance state."""
In our country, the surveillance state fucks you.
|4.2.09 @ 1:29PM|#
If you are sporting Ron Paul bumperstickers in Missouri you are already assumed to be a subversive.
|4.2.09 @ 1:31PM|#
No audio at work. Does the TSA agent recognize his folly, apologize, and wish the detainee well? Balko's so due.
|4.2.09 @ 1:33PM|#
Yeah, more and more, supporting freedom is becoming a threat to
the government.
Who won the cold war?
High Every Body|4.2.09 @ 1:35PM|#
Shouldn't this be referred to as Obama's TSA? I seem to hear the president tagged to his executive branch helpers much less since January 09.
Spoonman|4.2.09 @ 1:35PM|#
"We gonna help you understand".
From a real person, that would be a threat. From a bureaucrat, it's
protecting America.
T|4.2.09 @ 1:35PM|#
I have to say, there is no possible way I would have been so
easy going about it. Especially if I had a recorder
going.
I generally let my wife handle all interactions with the po-po if I
can get away with it at all. I am unable to maintain my cheerful
easy-going demeanor for more than about 3 seconds.
|4.2.09 @ 1:38PM|#
Does the TSA agent recognize his folly, apologize, and wish
the detainee well?
Yup. And the whole sordid affair ends with a heartwarming
singalong. I thought I detected strains of "Queef Free," but
couldn't tell for sure.
|4.2.09 @ 1:39PM|#
It would have been a lot more productive for his movement if he had gotten the shit kicked out of him by TSA officials for not answering their questions.
|4.2.09 @ 1:43PM|#
And just think how much support our movement would get if we
were all executed for posting here! Awesome!
Not to read too much into your comment's intent, but hoping for
trouble in the name of the cause is just another form of the victim
mentality.
High Every Body|4.2.09 @ 1:46PM|#
FrBunny,
So I can end the private reenactment of Ruby Ridge in my
condo?
[placing shotguns on safe]
Alex|4.2.09 @ 1:47PM|#
It's worth noting that neither the TSA, nor its agents will suffer any penalty from this encounter. The only one to lose out here was the guy standing up for his rights.
|4.2.09 @ 1:49PM|#
I thought I detected strains of "Queef Free," but couldn't
tell for sure.
Ah, Dagny! That's gross! It's just not funny, Dagny!
|4.2.09 @ 1:49PM|#
For now, HEB.
And just to be clear, the Mango Punch scenario has definitely
played out off-tape far too often, so I can see the apparent value
of finaly capturing it for cable newz.
will|4.2.09 @ 1:57PM|#
A) Supreme kudos to that guy keeping his calm. I would have lost
my temper and told them.
B) Of all fucking people for the TSA to detain. Seriously. Of all
fucking people.
High Every Body|4.2.09 @ 2:03PM|#
Sort of remonds me of a story by Declan McCollough (I know that
is spelled wrong) back in the 1990s called "That's the
Constitution, Gilligan and You are Stepping all over It!"
It was about a customs inspection with lots of uestions about his
books. No questions about his laptop.
|4.2.09 @ 2:06PM|#
That's gross! It's just not funny, Dagny!
Once again, we see that Canadians are at the forefront of all that
is hilarious and gross.
ed|4.2.09 @ 2:08PM|#
The show is Judge Andrew Napolitano's Freedom Watch, shown
in foxnews.com every Wednesday as a web cast
Thanks. I was going to ask how that presentation could possibly
have made it onto FOX (TV), they being the pro-Bush, pro-Patriot
Act, law-and-order network.
The good judge is the exception to that rule.
???|4.2.09 @ 2:16PM|#
"Thanks. I was going to ask how that presentation could possibly
have made it onto FOX (TV), they being the pro-Bush, pro-Patriot
Act, law-and-order network.
The good judge is the exception to that rule."
Granted Fox sucks a large hard one, But MSNBC swallows There's this
show called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. So you'd think it was about
the presidency. But it's not. It's just a daily bash of
Republicans.
ed|4.2.09 @ 2:24PM|#
No kidding. MSNBC is anti-Republican, all the time. They're the anti-FOX. The joke, of course, is that both networks are, for the most part, anti-freedom. They just go about it in different ways.
Naga Sadow|4.2.09 @ 2:24PM|#
Dagny T.
Gross. Damn that South Park episode! And to think I missed you!
???|4.2.09 @ 2:28PM|#
I mean, why bash Palin everyday? Ignore her? Sure. And they constantly bash Jindal and just about anyone one else in the Republican party who's beginning to gain national attention. Very preemptive. It's as if they are an official arm of the DNC and they want to be certain to poison the image of anyone who might take on Obama in 2012. The've spend days upon days bashing Sen Michelle Bachman (R-MN). Bachman? I mean, who even gives a shit about Bachman. And the half truths and bald-faced lies? It's just amazing.
|4.2.09 @ 2:39PM|#
I was on a watch list because my name is almost as common as
"John Smith" (JS has 79 million hits on google, my name only has 60
million).
You're having us on. No way does "lunchstealer" get 60 million
google hits.
ed|4.2.09 @ 2:42PM|#
It's as if they [MSNBC] are an official arm of the
DNC
Keith Olbermann is obsessed with Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and
FOX in general. His unrelenting psychotic rants comprise a large
portion of his evening show. He's paid millions but loses the
ratings war with O'Reilly every week. Bill O'Reilly is a populist
bully and megalomaniac who occasionally gets it right, but
Olbermann's whole raison d'etre is hatred of Republicans. That's a
pretty shallow format, suitable for the simple-minded. But to be
beaten like a cheap rug by the likes of O'Reilly, week after week,
must be destroying Olbermann's brain.
Naga Sadow|4.2.09 @ 2:52PM|#
Technically, you do work for them. Interstate commerce is subject to just about anything now.
Kolohe|4.2.09 @ 3:18PM|#
You're having us on. No way does "lunchstealer" get 60
million google hits.
You beat me to it. I was going to say this goes on long way in
explaining why there are no free lunches.
High Every Body|4.2.09 @ 3:18PM|#
I think he was hitting on you.
Good thing he dumped that Japanese Asian chick so he
can be available for this guy.
More action back in the Ninja thread.
Jason|4.2.09 @ 3:42PM|#
I would have gave them a smarmy, "So I am not under arrest anymore? I am just trying to understand your law."
|4.2.09 @ 3:45PM|#
Anybody know what kind of phone he was using? I found a blog
post that said he was using an iPhone, if he was, what kind of
application would activate a recorder on a shake (like with a Star
Trek communicator)?
Anyways, I googled and found full audio here:
http://www.dailynewscaster.com/2009/04/02/audio-full-version-steve-bierfeldt-detained-and-questioned-by-st-louis-tsa/
High Every Body|4.2.09 @ 3:48PM|#
what kind of application would activate a recorder on a
shake
That would be the Shake on, shake off, the shaker app.
since it is an iPhone you can purchase apps with carbon
credits.
lunchstealer|4.2.09 @ 3:50PM|#
You're having us on. No way does "lunchstealer" get 60 million google hits.
You beat me to it. I was going to say this goes on long way in explaining why there are no free lunches.
On the other hand, you can see why they'd detain me. Think of the
havoc I could cause with 200 airline meals.
|4.2.09 @ 4:48PM|#
when asked to explain why he's carrying $4,700 in
cash
I would have just answered "Because its mine" and kept
walking.
Of course, I'd probably be in wheelchair by now, too.
SpongePaul|4.2.09 @ 5:01PM|#
ok after listing to the entire tape, this is what i have come up
with.
The TSA agents were incredibly unprofessional in both the execution
and idea of thier jobs. They were DICKS! It appears that the
officer/officers who were real cops acted much more professionally
and when he got to the real cops, not a guy who thinks saying box
of monies is correct english, things went smooth and he was allowed
to proceed. The true law officers respected his rights, and moved
things along. the TSA Dicks even after he was released were
behaving badly.
Wasyl|4.2.09 @ 5:21PM|#
Why was it necessary for Napolitano to ask them to put the man's picture back up on the screen and then make the comment, "Does he look like a terrorist?" I don't really think that's appropriate, his appearance has nothing to do with this. Would it have been alright for them to detain him if he had looked a certain way?
ed|4.2.09 @ 7:52PM|#
Would it have been alright for them to detain him if he had
looked a certain way?
No. The judge was making a funny. Because the victim looked like he
was taken from Republican central casting.
MW|4.2.09 @ 8:56PM|#
It's obvious these TSA officers were acting like every other police officer - they see something mildly suspicious, try to goad you into surrendering your fourth amendment rights, then get upset when you assert your rights and try to badger you into giving them up, because, as the officer said, "you look suspicious" and "if you have nothing to hide, you'd tell us." That last bit would be true if police weren't targeting citizens based on political affiliation.
Mr. Chartreuse|4.2.09 @ 9:00PM|#
The TSA agents were incredibly unprofessional in both the
execution and idea of thier jobs. They were DICKS!
Probably because the TSA has an insecurity problem, they even had
to get new blue police-esque uniforms so they could feel better
about themselves.
|4.2.09 @ 9:29PM|#
This is about the drug war. That's why the Totally Stupid Assholes were talking about taking him to the DEA. DEA knows large amount of cash = drugs. Large amount of cash + airport = must ask questions, and away it went. Cops rarely ever put up with people invoking rights, they don't like at all. Yet that's the first thing they do when suspicion falls on them.
Wasyl|4.3.09 @ 9:02AM|#
No. The judge was making a funny. Because the victim looked
like he was taken from Republican central casting.
I get that, but unless somebody was following him around with the
American flag backdrop, he's just another blond white guy in the
airport.
New World Dan|4.3.09 @ 4:16PM|#
Cops rarely ever put up with people invoking rights, they
don't like at all.
Police work is largely about intimidation. Their ability to perform
their job generally depends on being seen as an authority figure.
Likewise with interrogations. If your suspect is scared and
believes that cooperating will help, he will. The implied threat
against the innocent is that failure to cooperate will make your
next 72 hours very unpleasant.
Blogger Bob|4.3.09 @ 5:54PM|#
Good day! We (TSA Blog) just posted a statement on this
incident. Click here ---> http://tinyurl.com/cqvg4o
Thanks,
Blogger Bob
EoS Blog Team
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