Over the past few days, a video has been making the rounds about an incident at Phoenix International Airport. The video depicts a woman screaming for help from the police because she felt a TSA officer had sexually assaulted her during what is known as an enhanced pat down. This woman had never been through an enhanced pat down before and was, rightfully, terrified and shocked over the incident.

The woman’s son had recorded part of the incident and we see and hear several TSA officials telling the man that he would be arrested for filming if he did not stop. The man politely asked several times to show them the law or statute that says he cannot film, but the TSA only continue with their threats, including asking him if he wanted to fly that day.

The TSA has now responded to the incident with their standard answer that everything is fine and the TSA officials did nothing wrong.

TSA takes all allegations of improper screening seriously and investigates each claim to the fullest. After reviewing this passenger’s time at the checkpoint, we found that our security officers acted properly and neither the CCTV footage nor this YouTube video support any of the allegations levied. Real violations of our protocols are worth every ounce of our energy to investigate, but this alleged incident does not meet that threshold.

While the TSA may feel that they take all allegations seriously, it never appears this way to the public. Results of their investigations are never released so Americans are forced to take their word that everything done was proper and in order. It does not satisfy anyone. It only serves to enrage the general public further against the TSA.

By stating that only “real violations” are worthy of investigation and that this does not meet those expectations, the TSA infuriates anyone who has an ounce of decency. It says that the woman’s claims of being violated are frivolous and not worthy of their attention. It continues to confirm that the TSA does not take the very real violation and humiliation that passengers are forced to surrender to at the airport.

This incident has also raised many questions about whether or not passengers can film at checkpoints. This topic is currently under review, but you can read this blog post on our current policy for photography at checkpoints.

The second part of the TSA’s statement is even more disturbing. It is a polite way for the TSA to say that, while filming is currently allowed, the TSA and its workers are not happy about being filmed, so the policy is under review. It very much appears as if the TSA wants to make filming in a public space illegal.

This is further confirmed by the fact that the TSA says the TSA officials did nothing wrong at the airport. It says that, when they threatened this man, it was perfectly legal for them to do so even though it is not illegal to film at the airport.

The truth is that the TSA hopes to intimidate passengers who may not be aware of the law into submitting to what they want. The TSA wants passengers to be submissive and servile, happily giving up their rights so that they can force individuals into compliance. As Americans, it is our duty to continue to fight against the forced security theater and stripping of our rights. If we don’t, the TSA, DHS and other government agencies will continue to stomp on the Constitution in order to get what they want and the hell with any rights an individual may have.