Posted on 01/03/2002 1:10:30 AM PST by kattracks
An Arab-American Secret Service agent assigned to protect President Bush has hired an attorney after being kicked off a commercial flight on Christmas Day, officials said yesterday.
The agent, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, was questioned about his identity before being barred from the American Airlines flight.
Civil rights attorney Christy Lopez of the Washington law firm Relman & Associates has taken the case, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The council has filed a civil rights complaint alleging the pilot ordered the armed agent off the plane only because he was an Arab-American.
Bush said last week that he would be "madder than heck" if his bodyguard was booted from the flight because of his ethnicity.
The American-Islamic group announced yesterday that a passenger who was sitting next to the agent on American Airlines Flight 363 has come forward alleging the agent was "kicked off the plane because of his race."
Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin declined to comment.
American Airlines claims the pilot ordered the agent off the flight to Dallas-Fort Worth because his paperwork contained "inconsistencies."
Words cannot express...
(I ended up -- after walking about a half mile (ABQ airport, I am not exagerating) literally on the floor with a heart monitor and O2 tank, with paramedics looking at the tape yelling at me that I had to be in the hospital, now, mad that I refused, because I could not afford to lose the one "replacement" flight the bastards were So Kind as to let me know I'd be "allowed".)
I seem to remember 19 others who cleared through a couple of security checks already, although they only had knives or boxcutters. You might take up their cases too, pro bono of course.
Trust, but verify. If they are unable to verify, don't fly him. Why do you suppose he needed to carry his weapon if the President was not on his flight ? Why did he leave unattended luggage ? Why was he aggressive toward the flight crew ?
"Do you think the company would be wrong to fire him later after it got sued?"
Bzzzt! Strawman argument!
Why stop there? Why not go all the way? What should we do if a Church of Satan member pilot decides that a group of Amish passengers are a threat to the welfare of the other passengers, and tosses 'em off?
IOW, ask us again when that happens. Meanwhile, we've got a member of The Religion of Peace, aligned with CAIR, grandstanding because he wasn't allowed to pack heat on a passenger plane, while not "in the line of duty".
I'm just going on what's in the article. What else do I have? My experiences w/ AA have been positive, so I've never had to experience their bad side...
You were non-sequitur. Now you're incoherent. Why lump three unrelated posters into a single reply?
The captain's word aboard his plane isn't just his opinion... it's the law. He didn't refuse passage to Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton - or even Yasser freaking Arafat for that matter. He refused passage to a non-compliant smart mouthing LEO who wanted to bring his firearm aboard for his own convenience, without properly completing the required paperwork.
Who cares about your made-up hypotheses of airline racism against blacks and Arabics? I suspect what you're doing is trolling for real racists and hoping in earnest for a bite. That's pretty creepy.
Whereas even a white agent making a loud stink, running to the press and lawyers etc. to rail about overagressive security would be out of line. This guy's association with CAIR makes me even more concerned about his loyalties not being with his profession or the President. He's being unprofessional and actually continuing to act suspiciously.
He may be setting up a book deal where he exposes how the Secret Service is racist, profiles people in crowds, and should not require a high school diploma for illegal immigrant applicants.
So was the guy in Florida with the loaded 9MM. Shall we give him a pass too, since he meets the criteria described above?
I think that's probably a big part of it. A typically arrogant member of The Religion of Peace decided to show the captain exactly who was in charge, and then through a hissyfit when he succeeded.
You got that right. I suspect he views himself as above those of us he serves. I have to assume there was some friction between the agent and the pilot that we're not hearing about. Though on the surface the pilot seems to have acted responsibly, he knew darn well this guy was an SS agent. If the pilot honestly suspected the agents credentials, we'd be reading about his detainment by the National Guard or Dallas Police. If there were enough "inconsistencies" to suspect his identity, you don't ask him to deplane to the concourse in possession of a firearm.
Is CAIR about to release a press release on your behalf too? :)
The prosecution rests. (for now...)
Was he the only person on board who fit into this category? If not, he should find a better lawyer.
I don't think that was ever verified - only Debka made that claim.
Arabs are classified white by the Census. They don't receive any affirmative action benefits. Not that this very successful group would need them.
If you did that, and he lost, would he have cause for legal malpractice action? What would you say when the matter of the captain's absolute right to ban anyone for any reason, i.e., "I didn't like the look on his face" is raised?
Evidently he was bright enough to know when to stop resisting. If he'd kept pressing it to that point, I have no doubt he'd have received exactly as much force as was necessary to keep him off the plane.
In the interest of getting you off this absurd hobby horse, I'll answer. Yes, it would be OK, since the captain has absolute say in who it is that sits behind him on his flight.
Next question?
You'll notice that I stated "...*if* he is an Affirmative Action hire". I wasn't sure, but thank you for the clarification.
On what legal grounds are you making a request for someone's religious affiliation ?
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