A soldier in an army of protesters, or a last hold-out?

The Charlottesville Times-Dispatch reports, December 31:

Charlottesville man protests airport security, is arrested

A Charlottesville man who stripped down to his underwear at Richmond International Airport to protest security-screening procedures was charged with disorderly conduct Thursday, airport police said.

Airport police identified him as Aaron B. Tobey, 21. He told police he was a student at the University of Cincinnati. The incident occurred at 2:17 p.m. at Checkpoint B, the busier of the airport’s two checkpoints, said airport spokesman Troy M. Bell.

Bell said police reported that when they arrived at the checkpoint, they found Tobey, “absent of pants and shirt in full public view, exposing language regarding the Fourth Amendment written on his chest and abdomen with marker or crayon.”

The message read, “Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated,” Bell said.

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.

Tobey was interviewed by airport police and federal authorities, issued a citation for disorderly conduct and released. He is scheduled for arraignment in Henrico County General District Court on Jan. 10.

Meanwhile, numerous U.S. airports are considering hiring private contractors to replace the Transportation Security Administration.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 01, 2011 06:41 PM | Send