Political activist detained by TSA for carrying cash

Civil Liberties Examiner ^ | 2 April, 2009 | J.D. TuccilleGo to J.D.'s Home Page

[marktwain]

The show-me state made the news recently when the Missouri Information Analysis Center, a state-federal law-enforcement partnership, released an inflammatory report alleging that libertarians, constitutionalists, supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, and other people skeptical of powerful government should be considered as potential terrorists-in-the-making. The controversial document has since been withdrawn, but you have to wonder when a twenty-something official with Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty gets rousted by TSA agents in the St. Louis airport for carrying ... cash.

Steve Bierfeldt, Director of Development for the organization, kept his cool during the encounter. We know that because he activated the recording function on his cell phone and captured almost all of the incident for posterity. The TSA agents harangued him for asking what his legal rights were while he was questioned in a detention room. They accused him of behaving "like a child" when he simply wanted to know whether he was legally compelled to answer certain questions.

The apparent cause of the encounter was Bierfeldt's possession of roughly $4,700 in cash, the take from sales of books, T-shirts and merchandise at a regional conference in the city.

Is it any of the TSA's business that Bierfeldt was carrying cash? (What? Was he going to pummel the stewardess with a roll of twenties?)

And it's revealing that the agents were apparently offended that their detainee politely inquired into his own rights instead of instantly submitting.

Andrew Napolitano at Fox News has part of the recording along with some background information.

By the way, I'll lay odds that the comments in the ear of the TSA types by the supposed undercover FBI agent who intervened to release Bierfeldt included the words, "Just how stupid are you?"

[Moonman62]

They accused him of behaving "like a child"

It would have been more professional to say he was behaving like a Libertarian.

[El Gato]

You can imagine the reaction of the TSA pinheads at the Raleigh-Durham airport when they discovered the weapons in his carry on luggage. While waiting for TSA supervisors, FBI, BATFE, and God knows who else the TSA decided to examine everything else in his luggage, including the contents of his checked luggage. After a lengthy delay he, and his weapons were released, with one exception. His 2 inch sewing scissors were confiscated by the TSA because they were not specifically listed on his orders.

I'd be bucking that back up my chain of command. There is no excuse for TSA pinheads working so close to a major military facility not to recognize military orders, and military ID card.

More often than carrying weapons through security would be folks carrying classified material, which also comes with "Do Not Open" orders. But I don't know about "These days".

[PAR35]

Don’t you have to be arrested for something in order to invoke the forfeiture laws?

No. The burden is on you to sue the seizing authority to get your property back. They may threaten to charge you with a crime if you put up a fight for your property, however. So most folks just walk away and let the cops keep it.

[Joan Kerrey]

detainee politely inquired into his own rights instead of instantly submitting.

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Should have submitted and admitted the cash was intended to be an untracable donation to Obama’s card check effort.