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TSA search protest at Richmond Airport

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Aaron Tobey
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The Aaron Tobey Richmond Airport 4th Amendment Naked Protest occurred when Aaron B. Tobey, as a 21 year old Wikipedia:University of Cincinnati, Wikipedia:Ohio, US Wikipedia:architecture student, caused US national headlines in December, 2010 when during a Wikipedia:Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening at the Wikipedia:Richmond, Virginia, US international airport, a portion of the Fourth Amendment to the US constitution, guaranteeing a US constitutional right of protection against "unreasonable search and seizure" was revealed, hand-written, on his chest when he removed his T-shirt[1]. Keeping his running shorts on, which were under the sweatpants in which he arrived, when he stripped, Tobey was not entirely nude.[2]

Social and legal significance and context: Wikipedia:Unreasonable Search and Seizure[edit]

Katie Beck of Wikipedia:CBS notes regarding US TSA safety screening proceedures for civilian passengers on commercial airline flights, that "since these new measures have gone into place, there have been many demonstrations at screening stations across the country, but this is the first of its kind at the Richmond airport." The Wikipedia:Richmond Times-Dispatch notes that "Many air travelers are upset by tough new, anti-terrorism screening procedures in which they must choose between full-body scans by detectors or pat-down searches."[3]

Aaron Tobey stated in a television interview that "I view this as a violation of my civil liberties, and I wanted to start a national dialog about that." "Outraged" about newly implemented screening procedures, he was unable to avoid taking a commercial airline flight when his grandfather died in Wisconsin and he sought to attend his grandfather's funeral with the rest of his family. "So I decided that... the next time I would go through uh, one of these screenings, I would make a statement somehow." He concludes, "I, I really think we need to start questioning how, what rights are w willing to give up for the idea of safety, and what our priorities really are." Ê¡

Protest Event[edit]

When Aaron Tobey of Wikipedia:Charlottesville, Virginia[4] arrived at the airport on Thursday December 30, 2010 at 2:17 PM, he entered the queue for being safety searched. "Upon being directed there, I took off my T shirt and my sweatpants, and I uh I stood there in running shorts, waited for them to proceed with the screening."

On Tobey's bare chest was the dermographic[5][6][7], or message written on skin with crayon or magic marker as Wikipedia:UPI notes[8],

"Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated,"

as Wikipedia:Richmond International Airport spokesperson Troy M. Bell observed.[9]

While Tobey was aware that in a similar protest earlier in 2011, a young Wikipedia:Utah man encountered no legal censure from authorities, police at the Richmond International Airport handcuffed Tobey and initiated charges. Tobey has said he was detained for 90 minutes, though he had arrived early enough that he made his flight after his detention.[10]

Wikipedia:Commonwealth of Virginia charge: Disorderly conduct misdemeanor[edit]

A Wikipedia:misdemeanor charge for disorderly conduct was made against Tobey by arresting officers after he was interviewed by both local and federal officials.[11]. Tobey was slated for appearance in Wikipedia:Henrico County General District Court on January 10, 2010. The charge was subsequently dropped by the Wikipedia:Commonwealth of Virginia's state Attorney for Henrico County. Tobey's lawyers note that the arrest and handcuffing were done despite Tobey's having successfully passed through the original screening search itself without any discovery of his being in possession of in-flight contraband, that Tobey offered no resistance, answered questions, and was allowed to board his flight despite law enforcement censure. Under Virginia law, the misdemeanor charge carries penalties of up to $2,500 and 12 months in jail.

US Federal lawsuit: Tobey v. Napolitano[edit]

Tobey v. Napolitano is a suit filed by the Rutherford Institute on behalf of Aaron B. Tobey in March, 2011 in the immediate wake of the Richmond, Virginia airport incident, after the misdeanor charge against Tobey was dropped. The case is being tried in the Wikipedia:U.S. District Court for the Wikipedia:Eastern District of Virginia.

John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute stated that "Aaron Tobey was arrested for exercising his right to free speech, which is clearly protected under the First Amendment. Tobey was unduly seized by government agents in violation of the Fourth Amendment, despite the fact that he did nothing to disrupt airport routine."

The suit which is part of the public record claims that

  • Tobey was arrested and held for questioning without sufficient cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
  • Tobey's First Amendment rights were violated when he was arrested because of the content and manner of his protest.
  • Federal and state officials failed to adequately train law enforcement officers stationed at RIC, resulting in Tobey's unlawful arrest.[12]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/aaron-b-tobey-passenger-w_n_835830.html
  2. ↑ http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-pictures-of-virginia-man-who-s-01042011,0,7140015.story CBS 6 WTVR news broadcast, "Interview with RIC Protester" (Retrieved March 2011)
  3. ↑ http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2010/dec/31/tdmet04-charlottesville-man-protests-airport-secur-ar-744888/
  4. ↑ Examiner, "Virginia Man Faces the TSA with the Fourth Amendment on his Chest," (December 31, 2010)
  5. ↑ Cambridge University Catalogue: Pálsson, Gísli (University of Iceland, Reykjavik), Anthropology and the New Genetics, Series: New Departures in Anthropology (No. 4) (September 2007)
  6. ↑ http://www.cedermo.com/indexuk.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.maquillagepermanent-france.com/permanent_make_up/permanent_make_up.php
  8. ↑ Wikipedia:UPI: Top News: U,S. News, ""Airport strip act leads to arrest" (December 31, 2010)
  9. ↑ http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2010/dec/31/tdmet04-charlottesville-man-protests-airport-secur-ar-744888/
  10. ↑ http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-pictures-of-virginia-man-who-s-01042011,0,7140015.story CBS 6 WTVR news broadcast, "Interview with RIC Protester" (Retrieved March 2011)
  11. ↑ CBS 6 news (Henrico County, January 4, 2011)
  12. ↑ http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/press_release.asp?article_id=889
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