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Passenger says TSA agents harassed him

cnn.com — 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.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 20, 2009

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  • Ubermann, on 06/20/2009, -1/+173Since when is the TSA a police agency?
  • Christianptriot, on 06/20/2009, -14/+156Any government large enough to guarantee your freedom, is capable of taking it away.

    The federal government gets its powers from the individual states, according to the Constitution. Yet the feds act as if they are the source of all power and control. They are wrong.

    But until 'We the People' begin to realize it, and demand REAL change to the ongoing degrading Change from this administration, we are doomed to suffer at teh hands of our own elected and appointed officials.
  • Woofermazing, on 06/20/2009, -0/+122Moral of the story: Always wear a wire! Otherwise we'd be hearing denials up and down.
  • dglad, on 06/20/2009, -0/+100I'm scratching my head as to how $4700 in cash represented, in any way, a threat to the safety of the people boarding that aircraft. Paper money doesn't make a very good weapon. I suppose you could try using to bribe the crew into operating the aircraft in some dangerous way, but I suspect that $4700 wouldn't be enough. So in what way was the TSA fulfilling its mandate in this case? From their website:

    With our state, local and regional partners, we oversee security for the highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, ports and the 450 U.S. airports. We employ approximately 50,000 people from Alaska to Puerto Rico to ensure your travels – by plane, train, automobile or ferry – are safe and secure.

    How did what happened here "ensure that your travels...are safe and secure"?
  • emptypoi, on 06/20/2009, -4/+95informed minority win again
  • URnotheonly1, on 06/20/2009, -11/+97Officer: So these are campaign contributions for Ron Paul?

    Bierfeldt: Yes, sir.

    Officer: You're free to go.

    Ron's stock just went up real high with me.
  • notoneofus, on 06/20/2009, -1/+80By douchebag you must mean the TSA dumbass who wouldn't answer the question about legal justification?
  • 44Bigs, on 06/20/2009, -2/+73Congratulations, Mr. Bierfeldt.. you are now on the TSA's ***** list. Be sure to arrive at the airport early next time your flying because you are probably going to be questioned again.

    It's really funny how the interrogators didn't even understand that he was not refusing to answer, but merely wanted to know his rights. Seems fair to me.
  • l0rdishtar, on 06/20/2009, -4/+68George Carlin (RIP) had a quote that seems relevant here:
    As far as I’m concerned, all of this airport security – the cameras, the questions, the screening, the searches, is just one more way of reducing your liberty and reminding you they can ***** with you anytime they want, as long as you’re willing to put up with it. Which means, of course, anytime they want. Because that’s the way Americans are now. They’re always willing to trade away a little of their freedom for the feeling – the illusion – of security.

    You have got to be realistic about terrorism. Ya gotta be a realist: Certain groups of people – muslim fundamentalists, christian fundamentalists, jewish fundamentalists, and just plain guys from Montana – are going to continue to make life in this country very interesting for a long, long time. That’s the reality. Angry men in combat fatigues talking to god on a two-way radio and muttering incoherent slogans about freedom are eventually going to provide us with a great deal of entertainment.

    (sorry for the double post)
  • thrashertm, on 06/20/2009, -1/+63Papers please!
  • greenvortex, on 06/20/2009, -1/+61Big Brother is watching you too, Big Brother.
  • fury420, on 06/20/2009, -4/+59I had to do a double-take just to make sure it was not the same Steve who was carrying a pocket-constitution & video camera at the internal "border checkpoint" a few months back who kept going on, and on, and on about how he "just want to go on my way, can i go on my way?"... I was like... holy *****, it happened to him again?

    Turns out I was wrong, there are just at least 3 guys named Steve who carry a pocket constitution & recording device rolling into border/TSA checkpoints nowadays & apparently get their rights trampled on tape
  • NSResponder, on 06/21/2009, -0/+53"And if the douchebag had just answered the question"

    The douchebag was the one with the badge, who was asking the questions. The citizen he was harassing was standing up for his liberty and yours, you ungrateful sack of *****.

    -jcr
  • hawkspur, on 06/20/2009, -2/+52The man stood on his principles; just because it is easier to ignore your Constitutional rights, doesn't mean you should. If anything, we need more people who assert them, rather than giving law enforcement the keys to the city.
  • V3n0M, on 06/20/2009, -4/+54September 11, 2001
  • deppner05, on 06/20/2009, -5/+53The TSA serves NO purpose! Lets be honest...other than to harrass and prove that terrorism is winning! Terrorism is NOT judged by the number of deaths but the overall pychological effect it has on a society. Causing one group of Americans to harrass and treat another group unconstitutionally on a daily basis...and to deny constitutional rights of another American is more terrorism than the act itself...

    Altough.... events like this make the banks stronger as well... If I as a working citizen cannot carry a few thousands $$ around with being questioned...promotes, if not forces, people to use the banking system....
  • Travelsonic, on 06/20/2009, -0/+459-11 is being used as an excuse for anything these days..
  • hanban, on 06/20/2009, -6/+47i guess this time the TSA picked on the wrong guy...more power to him i say.
  • Tarmogoyf, on 06/20/2009, -4/+41It goes both ways.

    All the officer had to do WAS ***** TELL HIM HE HAD NO AUTHORITY TO ASK!

    Confrontation averted in line with the law.
  • maxer64, on 06/20/2009, -2/+35Stuff like this makes me even more excited for campus ACLU meetings to start back up in the fall.. people need to know their rights
  • FearlessFreep, on 06/20/2009, -4/+36"
    You expect your government to protect you and your children from criminals and allow you the right to live without fear"

    Nope. I grew up a long time ago and came to realize that occasionally life sucks and terrible things happen. The price of freedom is living in a world where occasionally I have to face the consequences of being human.

    That's being an adult, you take the freedom, you take the rights, you take the responsibility, you take the risks. Some of us die for it but all of us live better for it
  • Ymeg, on 06/20/2009, -4/+34The TSA should really stop acting like thugs. They can serve a proper function, but unfortunately they are choosing to go beyond that route.
  • inactive, on 06/20/2009, -1/+31And neither can a bag of money, which is not illegal to carry on a plane.Read the damn article.
  • JayPRu, on 06/20/2009, -2/+31When will the trend of government believing that they have the extra rights outside of those granted by the people to them stop?? This is driving me freaking nuts. This isn't that hard of a concept. The government is not omnipotent. If the law you are enforcing says suspicious activity must be noticed in order for advanced questioning, you must first notice suspicious activity! It's not that freaking hard!!
  • dglad, on 06/20/2009, -0/+29Neither can $4700 in cash.
  • TSK05, on 06/20/2009, -2/+31"Also, there is a time, place, and manner restrictions on the Constitution." - Really? I must've missed the section that says "this document is only valid at certain times in certain planes when brought up in a certain manner."
  • zephc, on 06/20/2009, -0/+28Obvious troll is obvious.
  • inactive, on 06/20/2009, -2/+29Sure, so when the officer asks to search your house you'll comply, right?.
  • analogkid01, on 06/20/2009, -1/+27And I hope there are a hell of a lot more of them out there, whatever their names may be.
  • DigDugDigger, on 06/20/2009, -1/+27"civil rights shenanegans"

    lol.
  • dglad, on 06/20/2009, -1/+26The real problem is that this action by the TSA doesn't make anyone safer. Ergo, the TSA wasn't doing its job. One could argue it was actually working at cross-purposes to itself, by diverting resources from what could be bona fide air travel safety to scrutinize a guy with some cash (and not even very much cash, at that).
  • V3n0M, on 06/20/2009, -6/+31***** THE TSA!!!
  • ZenFu, on 06/20/2009, -2/+27"And instead of being a douche and saying "you have no right to ask me that", just tell them what's going on and be on your way, and let them be on their way."

    Bottom line is, if the law states they have no right to ask (or you have a right not to answer), and you EXERCISE THAT RIGHT, there is NOTHING they can do but follow protocol.

    In this case, the TSA agents (with the exception of the last guy that asked bout Ron Paul) deviated from procedure because (i'm guessing) SO MANY other people had just "told them what was going on and went on their way" that the agents thought they had more power than they did. They were proven wrong.

    The constitution exists for a reason. By throwing away your rights and liberties for a few mins of peace and convenience, you're essentially saying that document isn't worth ***** (and, in conjunction, are setting the stage for others to walk all over it).

    Don't be a pussy. If you're right and they're wrong...call them on it.

    How else will people learn?

    EDIT: I'm guessing the reason the guy used his rights in this case was probably because the TSA agents were being jumped-up and pushy from the start. I used to be airport security. I know just how much of a dick these people can be when they're having a bad day. In this case, i applaud him for actually going by the book as opposed to yelling at them and throwing a tantrum (seen this...all that happens is they miss their flights and people laugh at em).
  • Miketwo345, on 06/20/2009, -8/+32I agree with both of them being douchebags, but I'm glad he stood for his own rights. TSA took disciplinary action against one of the people involved, and will probably create some sort of training on "What to do if a person asks about his rights"

    I hope the lawsuit is successful, as it will further encourage them to take their limitations seriously.

    I used to work for a regulatory agency in the government, and let me tell you firsthand that the overwhelming majority of people there either (a) didn't understand what the limits on their constitutional authority were, or (b) didn't care. There were people overstepping their bounds all the time -- asking questions of those that we regulated that were well outside the bounds of what we could legally ask.

    It happens all the time and it's paved with good intentions. People want to be important. People in my old job (which was a safety-related agency) wanted to ensure safety, even in things outside their jurisdiction. I bet the the TSA personnel here wanted to ensure this wasn't drug money or something, even though it's outside their scope. It's understandable, but it's still wrong.
  • Tarmogoyf, on 06/20/2009, -5/+28Yeah. Let us just ignore the rights that revolutionaries died for, that we STAND for.
    What a fool.

    When we allow people to act on "suspicions" we are already in bondage.


  • themonkman, on 06/20/2009, -1/+24The reason he did not answer the question is because of the principles of why it was asked. When the government feels that they can compel you to answer why you are carrying a certain amount of cash when you have violated no law, then what's next? It makes them believe they can ask anything at anytime and that you are being unlawful if you do not answer. When enough people voluntarily give up certain freedoms against unlawful search, seizure and questioning then the freedom disappears. A perfect example of this is what happened to the Jewish people of Nazi Germany.

    The People should exercise their freedoms, because without this daily exercise they mean nothing and eventually fade into obscurity and complacency that leads to the eventual gradual loss of those freedoms. History tells this to us and if we do not learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it. It may sound cliche but it is unequivocally the truth.
  • Lonandubh, on 06/20/2009, -0/+23Heh, only if they really want to get in further trouble.

    "Your Honor, I would like to call Dr. Statsman, Professor of at Muckitymuck university, to the stand, to explain why, even accounting for various types of profiling, that my client being subjected to additional questioning each of the past 10 times he attempted to go through the security checkpoint has less than a 1 in 100,000 probability, based on the Government's own data."
  • cferra, on 06/20/2009, -1/+23There is a FINE line between protecting people and violating their rights.. those TSA people are able to look through my items with out probabile cause.. Going on vacation to Disney World in FLA hardly qualifies...
  • V3n0M, on 06/20/2009, -0/+22Sad but true.

    (And for the record, my comment above is in no way meant to endorse it!)
  • moxley, on 06/20/2009, -4/+26So YOU'RE the type of person who enjoys being a slave...

    The law exists for a reason. A cop or ***** lame ass TSA agent (note: TSA is NOT law enforcement) cant just FORCE you to answer questions about something they see in your luggage unrelated to their policies or air safety - and no law enforcement should be able to force anyone to answer anything without citing the law that gives them the authority - this man did the right thing - he knew that there was no law, as did the officer.

  • shadowco, on 06/20/2009, -3/+25It's like nails on a chalkboard to hear people side with the idea of governmental scrutiny for the"safety" of us poor helpless civilians. Why aren't more people worried about it coming back around for them someday? But when it get's to be their turn, they will look at our struggles today and wish it never escalated. This man was exercising the muscles the majority of us forgot we had. He's just preventing our collective comatose body from obtaining atrophy. Complacent people call this type of person a trouble maker. Dissent is a virtue we have forgotten as a source of the people's power.
    Good form Steve.
  • Lonandubh, on 06/20/2009, -0/+21@hbeierg
    Actually, i can almost guarantee you that you've got the supplies to make a bomb in your house. $4,700 cash, in a lock box? Not so much.

    Further, Since when did "getting on to a plane" entail waiving your 5th amendment rights (Section 13 of the CCoR&F)? Your 4th amendment rights (Section 8)? He didn't say "i don't have to do this" he asked "do i have to do this?".
  • inactive, on 06/20/2009, -1/+22Wow, it is hard to tell what group sucks more ass on any given day... TSA? RIAA? Scientology? [your city] cops? I've said it before, I'll say it again.. when I travel by air, I have a greater fear of the TSA than some ass eating Islamic terrorist. That is just wrong.
  • moxley, on 06/20/2009, -1/+22That's *****...Having $4700 on your person is NOT suspicious....Especially if you're travelling...This man did exactly the right thing.
  • diggadigga, on 06/20/2009, -3/+23God I love technology. Recorders. Improved cellphone video/picture. The Internet. Internet video technology. Blogging. Social Media. Social Networking.

    Takes the power from the elite and puts it back to the people.

    Also, this gives publicity to Ron Paul. Very small, but, the more you hear about something from different sources/areas/circumstances, the more likely it's going to appeal.

    Good publicity for iphone too.
  • beachsouthpaw, on 06/20/2009, -6/+24The TSA - perhaps the most useless law enforcement division with some of the greatest power.
  • Bluesky0010, on 06/20/2009, -4/+22Or on the flip side, THE ***** AUTHORITY FIGURE COULD HAVE ANSWERED HIS ***** QUESTION. People like you need to STFU. The public servant WORKS FOR THE CITIZEN, not the other way around.

    See, this conversation would have taken the path it took if the authority answered the simple yes or no question like "do you have the right to ask me this question". It a lot simpler to answer, and only takes one word, as compared to the question the authority figure was asking.
  • Lonandubh, on 06/20/2009, -1/+19and here i thought that the transportation SECURITY administration was to ensure the safety of travel and travelers...
  • TheSwashbuckler, on 06/20/2009, -3/+20"Lots of cash in a tin box is out of the ordinary and all they were looking for was an explanation."

    Lots of cash in a tin box has NOTHING to do with airplane safety. That's TSA's job, not law enforcement.
  • Lonandubh, on 06/20/2009, -1/+18Carlin was, no question, one of the greatest satirists in the past several centuries.
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