Ron Paul supporter inadvertently gets iPhones banned from U.S. aircraft
Via CNN:
Steve Bierfeldt says the Transportation Security Administration pulled him aside for extra questioning in March. He was carrying a pocket edition of the U.S. Constitution and an iPhone capable of making audio recordings. And he used them.
On a recording a TSA agent can be heard berating Bierfeldt. One sample: “You want to play smartass, and I’m not going to play your f**king game.”
Bierfeldt is director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, an outgrowth of the Ron Paul presidential campaign.
[…]
Unbeknownst to the TSA agents, Bierfieldt had activated the record application on his phone and slipped it into his pocket. It captured the entire conversation.
An excerpt:
Officer: Why do you have this money? That’s the question, that’s the major question.
Bierfeldt: Yes, sir, and I’m asking whether I’m legally required to answer that question.
Officer: Answer that question first, why do you have this money.
Bierfeldt: Am I legally required to answer that question?
Officer: So you refuse to answer that question?
Bierfeldt: No, sir, I am not refusing.
Officer: Well, you’re not answering.
Bierfeldt: I’m simply asking my rights under the law.
[…]
The officers can be heard saying they will involve the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and appear to threaten arrest, saying they are going to transport Bierfeldt to the local police station, in handcuffs if necessary.
[…]
Near the end of the recording an additional officer enters the situation and realizes the origins of the money.
Officer: So these are campaign contributions for Ron Paul?
Bierfeldt: Yes, sir.
Officer: You’re free to go.
Larry Schwartztol of the ACLU said the TSA is suffering from mission creep.
Too darn right. It’s ironic that passengers are not allowed to take fishing tackle in hand luggage since the TSA are clearly using their checkpoints for fishing expeditions themselves.
Really? Maybe TSA did go a little overboard, but it seems to me that this guy was looking for trouble. Just answer the question! The world today is run on debit/credit. I can’t remember the last time I had cash in my wallet, and this guy thinks that carrying thousands of dollars in cash, in a metal case isn’t gonna arise any questions??? Stupid liberals. Quit looking for problems. I’m tired of hearing the whines coming from these people after they single themselves out with idiotic moves like this, then resist. He went looking for trouble and he found it. He got what you deserved. The cussing may have been a little much, but I applaud TSA for calling this guy out.
How does traveling with currency impact the operation and safety of a plane? TSA has no business detaining or questioning people from flying inside the USA with cash.
this really sounds like something i would do, but let me tell you, i would be int he slammer. this guy was calm, cool and collected.
they have been pushing this stuff and going overboard for years and they messed with the wrong guy.
i know someone who has a metal plate and screws in his foot and takes his x ray with him to the airport when he flies and he still gets hassled. and let me tell you, it is obvious he isn’t a terrorist. he has blond hair, blue eyes and is about the size of a pixie. he is so happy and cheerful and christian you just want to smack him sometimes but he gets the third degree just the same.
these people were on a fishing expedition. it was illegal and the gentleman was correct in invoking his rights and questioning authority.
the more they can get away with it the more they will do it.
kind of funny how ron paul gets you out of an interogation and i’m a senator can’t get you out of a bathroom bust. and both having taken place in an airport.
this is a joke. i can’t believe this guy.
Thank You, TSA, for doing your job.
F-You, Steve Bierfeldt, for wasting everyone’s time.
Last I checked, traveling in country with money wasn’t illegal. The TSA pretty much questions anything they want, and this isn’t the first time they’ve been absolute jerks with the people they are dealing with, cooperative or not.
Steve here probably knows good and well what he was doing. But the highlight of this story is does the TSA.
No, I don’t give Steve the FU. The TSA has some issues that need addressing and this was just another example.
LOL Asher Westport, you’re not going to impress anybody by calling a Ron Paul supporter a “liberal.” In fact, you pretty much guaranteed that everybody will dismiss you as an ignorant fool. But it’s convenient, because dismissing them is exactly what we should do with people like you who demand that we should forsake our liberties for convenience. Who cares if it was inappropriate for them to ask the question at all? You should just answer it anyway, right?
I am glad the shoe bomber didn’t use an explosive suppository – or else all of our asses would have to be exposed for the $8/hr TSA morons –
I am glad the shoe bomber didn’t use an explosive suppository – or else all of our asses would have to be exposed for the $8/hr TSA morons –
“i know someone who has a metal plate and screws in his foot and takes his x ray with him to the airport when he flies and he still gets hassled. and let me tell you, it is obvious he isn’t a terrorist. he has blond hair, blue eyes and is about the size of a pixie. he is so happy and cheerful and christian you just want to smack him sometimes but he gets the third degree just the same.”
What color eyes and hair did the terrorist who shot up the Holocaust museum a few days ago have? How about the guy who murdered that abortion doctor?
Are you suggesting that your blonde haired blue eyed friend should be given a pass when alarming airport metal detectors because he has an X-Ray image that he claims is of his ankle? You have got to be kidding, right?
I call BS – everyone knows that a Ron Paul supporter would be transporting gold bullion, not those worthless federal reserve notes. Imagine how much was lost due to runaway inflation while he stood there arguing with the TSA!!