TSA Handcuffs War Correspondent Michael Yon
by Maggie @ Maggie’s Notebook
At the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, TSA officials wanted to see inside Michael Yon’s travel bag. He, of course, complied. Then they wanted to know how much money he made. He told them his income had nothing to do with national security. They handcuffed him, but didn’t “arrest” him. You’ll recall the TSA could not find the bomb in the underpants of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Right. Here’s the celebrated war correspondent’s story of the TSA-Gone-Wild:
Via Goomba News, via Hot Air:
Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.
When they handcuffed me, I said that no country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.
This exclusive from BigGovernment:
Yon was returning to the United States from Hong Kong to visit family when TSA officials stopped him during a routine security checkpoint. “Officials asked me what was in my bag—nothing wrong with this question,” Yon said in an interview with BigGovernment.com. “I told them it was normal stuff, clothes and toothbrushes.”
At this point the TSA officials escorted Yon to a designated screening area where they examined the contents of his bag. “Then they asked me how much money I make,” Yon said. Yon suggested to the TSA officials that the question was inappropriate and unrelated to transportation security. The award-winning blogger noted another TSA officer approached Yon: “he asked who do I work for.” ”I did not answer the question which clearly was upsetting to the TSA officers.”
Yon was escorted to a room elsewhere in the airport where he said he remained silent during much of the questioning. According to Yon, “they handcuffed me for failing to cooperate. They said I was impeding their ability to do their job.”
There’s obviously more to this story, maybe this it:
In January of 2009, Yon’s article “Border Bullies” detailed a Homeland Security officer coercing a friend to give up her e-mail password so that he could read private email correspondences between her and Yon.
Regarding the incident in Seattle, Yon was adamant the TSA agents had overstepped their bounds: “If I am the guy on that passport and I don’t have any contraband in my luggage, it is a matter for the FBI, not the TSA.”
“TSA people are out of control,” he said. “They are not doing their jobs, they are harassing people, creating animosity. They ask you ‘what time is your connective flight?’ and they bully you until you miss the flight.”
TSA – out-of-control and obviously inept, as supported by the failure to find the bomb in the underpants of Christmas Day bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. What? Maybe Yon doesn’t like Seattle’s famous coffees?
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Posted by Maggie Thornton on January 5, 2010 11:13 pm
» Filed Under Government, Government tyranny, News, TSA, War On Terror, terrorism
» Tags: air safety,Air Travel,Andrew Breitbart,BigGovernment,Hot Air,Michael Yon,terrorism,terrorists,Transportation Security Administration,TSA,War Correspondents
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5 Responses to “TSA Handcuffs War Correspondent Michael Yon”
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Syndicate Me
This is the real deal right now. Soldiers, veterans, and law-enforcement officers are increasingly questioning just what the hell is going on and we are in the process of deciding what we’re going to do about it when push comes to shove. Many of us that took oaths to uphold the Constitution and actually protect our country from enemies foreign and
abroad[domestic], who have watched others die or get hurt while they fight to protect our rights and the rights of our citizens are getting a little pissed off right now, especially after being “soiled” by the actions during Katrina when we were used by government officials to disarm law-abiding citizens. We were all caught off guard and many of us are ashamed and have vowed to prepare for something like that in the future so that it never happens again.Government “hacks” in political positions of authority that think they can trample on the rights of the citizens, our neighbors, family members, friends and our supporters, are starting to really overstep their bounds in our eyes.
It seems that those of us that actually put our “asses” on the line to protect our Constitutional Republic and the rights of all citizens who are willing to sacrifice for others so that they will have the chance to live in a free country with liberty for all, are the ones that cherish those things the most. The politicians, “insiders”, and political hacks that bypass the rights of others, sell out on their principles and integrity in order to obtain positions of power appear to be the ones that are first in line and are most willing to take them away from others to gain advantage for themselves.
It all boils down to whether or not we will willingly choose to be used as a dispensable tool for tyranny or whether we will stand our ground, stand tall, and remain true to what we swore to do… consequences be damned. It appears that the people in power right now that are doing everything in their power to undermine the rights of our citizens in order to initiate the ultimate ” power play” that will ensure they remain in power and take control of everything we hold sacred have underestimated the will of the American people, the soldiers, cops, veterans and patriotic Americans that still love this country, our freedoms, our liberties and our way of life.
My advice to those politicians like Chuck Schumer who think they’re above everyone else, who refuse to stop talking on their cell phones while hundreds of people are inconvenienced because of their arrogance and sense of self-importance is that you look around and re-evaluate. You probably haven’t noticed us, we’re usually pretty quiet and reserved. We’ll be the ones sitting quietly in the cheapest seats that might decide that you have crossed a line that shouldn’t have been crossed when you decide to humiliate a woman doing her job. We might decide to get up and smash your cellphone into a thousand pieces and “bitch slap” you while you whine about not being recognized as being superior to others. Our collective “mood” is becoming more foul as the days go by and you might want to take notice.
[edited]
Dave hit the nail right on the head, right there. Excellent post!
Dave B: You sound like just the sort of guy who might like http://www.oathkeepers.org
Your posts today have been excellent and thought provoking.
B
From what I am hearing and seeing, it does not appear that the best and brightest are being recruited to be TSA agents.
You guys are funny…Mr. Yon made a mistake. He was clearly being questioned by CBP when re-entering the USA, not by TSA.
Customs agents ask questions about money, travel patterns, food you might be carrying, who you visited, etc. before allow persons entry (or re-entry) into the USA.
They have hand-cuffs and guns, TSA does not.
They wear black and the TSA wears blue.
CBP or Customs as they were called when they were with the Treasury Department has been doing this kind of work since about 1790…so its not really anything new.
Mr. Yon wasn’t cooperative it sounds like, so they kept him from entering the country until they were satisfied he wasn’t a threat.
Usually if you cooperate, show your passport and hand them the declaration slip…you are out the door with your bags in seconds. If they look in your bag and you cooperate, it only takes a couple minutes.
For a guy who supposedly travels so much, I am surprised he doesn’t know that it was CBP who held him and also that he doesn’t know the drill on how to get through quickly.