Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Traveler bypasses body scanner and invasive pat down after near 3 hour debate with TSA supervisor, airport police
Blogger Matt Kernan was able to bypass both the naked body scanner and invasive TSA pat down procedures during his return to the United States this past weekend, proving that both measures are completely unconstitutional and creating a precedent for a total shake-up of airport security.
Kernan, who documents the case on his website, was returning from a trip to Europe and was perturbed to see TSA workers making Americans who had already cleared security in their airport of origin go through backscatter x-ray machines and be groped simply to re-enter their own country.
“You see, it is official TSA policy that people (both citizens and non-citizens alike) from international flights are screened as they enter the airport, despite the fact that they have already flown,” writes Kernan. “Even before the new controversial security measures were put in place, I found this practice annoying. But now, as I looked past the 25 people waiting to get into their own country, I saw it: the dreaded Backscatter imaging machine.”
Having seen the plethora of cases in recent weeks of TSA thugs abusing and humiliating women and children, Kernan, who had no connecting flight and time to kill, decided to take a stand.
So begins Kernan’s description of his 2 and a half hour debate with TSA officials and airport police after he refused to go through the naked scanner or be groped.
After TSA workers laughed at Kernan for opting out of the radiation scanner, he politely informed them that if they touched his genitals he would consider it an assault.
With TSA officials repeating “policy” like a broken record, Kernan stated, “I am aware that it is policy, but I disagree with the policy, and I think that it is unconstitutional. As a U.S. citizen, I have the right to move freely within my country as long as I can demonstrate proof of citizenship and have demonstrated no reasonable cause to be detained.”
Soon after the TSA Supervisor, a Delta Airlines manager and the airport police were called and Kernan informed them that he was recording the audio of the exchange on his iPhone.
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
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“I will not do anything that is not explicitly stated on recording as mandatory,” Kernan told them, as the police suggested they conduct the pat down instead of the TSA. However, the cops were forced to back down when they refused to state on record that Kernan would have to have his genitals touched in order to be free to go.
After a disagreement between the police and the TSA about who had jurisdiction to arrest Kernan, the police began to get frustrated with the TSA Supervisor for pawning off the responsibility on them. At this point, the Supervisor tried to involve the “Federal Security Director,” who was told that Kernan was being polite and citing his constitutional rights.
After more deliberation, Kernan was eventually escorted out of the airport without having to go through a naked body scanner or have his genitals groped.
“And then came the most ridiculous scene of which I’ve ever been a part. I gather my things – jacket, scarf, hat, briefcase, chocolates. We walk over to the staff entrance and he scans his badge to let me through. We walk down the long hallway that led back to the baggage claim area. We skip the escalators and moving walkways. As we walk, there are TSA officials stationed at apparent checkpoints along the route. As we pass them, they form part of the circle that is around me. By the end of the walk, I count 13 TSA officials and 2 uniformed police officers forming a circle around me. We reach the baggage claim area, and everyone stops at the orange line. The Supervisor grunts, “Have a nice day,” and leaves.”
By simply remaining calm and polite while citing his constitutional rights, Kernan proved that, despite the best efforts of the TSA to intimidate people into submission by threatening $11,000 fines, it is not illegal to refuse to be put through a radiation scanner or be groped by TSA workers.
Kernan proved that the whole procedure is unconstitutional and a violation of rights, and after acknowledging this fact, TSA officials and the airport police had no other choice but to let him go free.
Tomorrow’s national op-out day provides the opportunity for thousands more Americans to follow in Kernan’s footsteps and permanently put to rest the notion that violating TSA “policy” is a criminal act, when in fact the policy in itself is a violation of constitutional rights and therefore completely illegal.
Matt Kernan on Jon Grayson from Overnight America, a radio program on several CBS stations.
Refusal to submit to scan, search wins Cincinnatian notoriety
BY JAMES PILCHER • JPILCHER@ENQUIRER.COM • NOVEMBER 23, 2010
What started as a self-proclaimed act of civil disobedience over the government's new aviation security screening procedures has turned a local 23-year-old into a celebrity on the Internet. And it got Matt Kernan through international security at the local airport without any screening whatsoever.
When returning Sunday from a business trip to Europe, Kernan refused to go through either the body-scanning machines or the alternate pat-down at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Returning international passengers must be re-screened at CVG after clearing customs and before entering the main concourses.
Recently imposed rules from the Transportation Security Administration require all passengers entering so-called "sterile" areas such as concourses be screened either with a body-scanner or a metal detector and an additional pat-down by hand that can include touching of genitals.
"It was civil disobedience, and a big component of it was that I had the luxury to do what others have not been able to do," said Kernan, who lives downtown and says he works in finance for a local company. "I wanted to set a precedent ... and to prove the point that these new security procedures are not necessary and are invasive."
• Kernan blog about his experiences
• Kernan audio blog of his encounter
• Blog: TSA sets up complaint number for passengers
• Video/Blog: "Don't touch my junk"
• Department of Homeland Security travel index
• TSA website for passengers with special medication or disability issues
Kernan says he was polite but insistent throughout the entire two-hour debate. After that discussion with local TSA officials, airport police and Delta Air Lines workers, Kernan said he was eventually escorted around the security checkpoint and through the bottom tunnel of the concourses by "at least 13 TSA agents" and local airport police officers. He says he was willing to go through the metal detector, but wound up not even doing that.
Kernan acknowledged that he went through the body-scanning machine on his departure from CVG last week, but that he doesn't like the choice he had to make and wanted to make a stand because he could. He said he objects to the body scans for both privacy and safety reasons, and objects strenuously to the hand searches. Kernan said that no such searches were in place in Europe.
"The choices they had were to either arrest me or let me go home," he said. "It wasn't like I had a plane to catch. I basically told them if they touched me I would consider it an assault."
Now, however, he has a decision to make. He is scheduled to fly out of another airport home to Florida for the holiday today and hasn't decided whether to go through the body scanner or consent to the hand search or skip flying. A Delta official said the airline will consider refunds for those who object to the airport scanning procedures and refuse to fly on a case-by-case basis.
TSA officials acknowledged the incident occurred and that Kernan was escorted through a "non-secure" part of the airport. The official airport police incident report also verifies Kernan's account, airport spokeswoman Barb Schempf said. The airport was still working to comply with an open records request for the report late Tuesday.
"In this instance, TSA in consultation with local law enforcement, made the determination to deny access to the secure area and have law enforcement escort the individual to the public side of the airport," TSA spokesman Jim Fotenos wrote in an e-mail. He declined to elaborate further when asked if this would be allowed again in the future.
Since blogging about his experiences Monday, readers have posted nearly 2,000 comments or notes of support for his actions. Kernan posted full audio of his encounter as well, and said the post has been viewed more than 170,000 times and that he has received many e-mails.
"I've had war veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and Vietnam e-mail me to tell me that this is exactly what they fought for," Kernan said "I've had sexual assault victims tell me that I was fighting for them - that I was doing something that they would have never been able to do. I've had pilots, lawyers, businesspeople, and students giving their support and calling me a hero.
"It has been incredible, although it's been frustrating as well. I don't think I'm heroic. Since when has simply asserting your own rights been heroic?"
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