I have a question for those of us that are ‘in the know’. Does the TSA have arrest powers or are they just faking it?
“Does the TSA have arrest powers or are they just faking it?”
They are faking it. However they can generate charges for the local police to arrest you on.
So rest easy that the security guard reject can screw up your life without justification and doesn’t even have the minimum controls that the police have.
Re: Filming TSA procedures.
Most airport security services do not allow filming of procedures. Years ago, transiting through Germany, an elderly man in our group with a back brace ended up semi-stripping to comply with security. Another in the group thought it was funny and snapped a few pics of Uncle H being frisked. The German security types jumped all over her. As I recall, they took her film.
The concern is legitimate: There is no reason the bad guys should be able to document and study security procedures at their leisure.
This is in no way to excuse the patently ridiculous, brain dead, offensive practices of the TSA.