My favorite tool of Der Staat (and I do mean tool) is at it again.
A lawsuit filed Thursday against the Transportation Security Administration alleges a Ron Paul supporter was unreasonably detained at the St. Louis airport because he was carrying about $4,700 in cash.That last sentence sums it up in full: the TSSA (Two 'S's because you can't spell Schutzstaffel without the 'SS') has NOT been granted the power to conduct open-ended criminal searches, nor to harass US citizens just because they feel like they can.
The organization had hosted an event in St. Louis that included the sale of tickets, T-shirts, stickers and other materials and Bierfeldt said he was carrying the cash proceeds in a metal box when he was detained at Lambert Airport for about 30 minutes on March 29.
The lawsuit does not seek money but asks the court to declare the TSA's actions unconstitutional and to prohibit the agency from similar searches when there is no evidence aircraft are endangered.
Bierfeldt's attorney, Ben Wizner, said the lawsuit does not challenge TSA's authority to search and detain those suspected of taking weapons, explosives or other dangerous objects onto planes.
"That's the whole purpose of airport searches," Wizner said. "These are not, however, open-ended criminal searches."
TSSA - you're the Wiener of the Week.
