Rand Paul calm during TSA patdown, video shows
By MACKENZIE WEINGER
Security footage of Sen. Rand Paul after he refused a full body pat-down at the Nashville International Airport on Monday does not show the Kentucky Republican acting “irate,” as the police had described him, according to a report.
In the videos, released by the Metro Airport Authority and posted on The Nashville Tennessean, Paul can be seen standing and sitting in a waiting area as he speaks on his cell phone. The Tennessean reported Thursday that the police incident report describes officers responding to a “passenger being irate,” but the footage offers no visible evidence of that behavior.
Paul had triggered an alarm during routine airport screening on Monday and refused a targeted pat-down. His spokesperson told POLITICO Paul “was being detained indefinitely.” The senator later rebooked his flight and went through security without incident.
In the videos obtained by the Tennessean, Paul is shown entering the security line at 7:57 a.m. local time and then waiting in a glass cubicle with security. About an hour later, an airport official can be seen walking him through the airport.
In response to Monday’s incident, his father’s presidential campaign issued a statement slamming the Transportation Security Administration and promising to abolish it if elected.
“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” Ron Paul’s campaign said. “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. The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe.”
A TSA official told POLITICO on Monday that Paul was “not detained at any point.”
“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 official said.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72013.html#ixzz1kacF4VaE
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