Passenger cleared after TSA checkpoint stare-down
26th January 2011
A Seattle man has been acquitted of all charges brought against him when he refused to show ID to TSA officials and videotaped the incident at an airport security checkpoint.
Apparently resistance is not necessarily futile.
Mocek’s video, shot in November 2009 at the Albuquerque International Airport, portrays a passenger politely refusing officers’ request that he show ID and stop videotaping his encounter with them.
“Is there a problem with using a camera in the airport in publicly – in publicly accessible areas?” Mocek calmly asks.
“Yes, there is,” an officer answers.
“I think you’re incorrect,” the passenger replies.
As the confrontation continues, one officer tells the man: “You pushing it, OK? You’re really pushing it.”
Another officer says: “Buster, you’re in trouble.”
Papers, Please! says the acquittal proves what TSA critics have said all along: That checkpoint staff have no police powers, that contrary to TSA claims, passengers have the right to fly without providing ID, and yes, passengers are free to video record checkpoints as long as images on screening monitors aren’t captured.