Security footage of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has emerged which appear to contradict reports that the Republican senator was acting “irate,” as police described him after he refused a full “pat down” by Transpiration Security Administration officials.
Paul was processed through the Nashville, Tennessee airport and can be seen calmly talking on his cell phone as police arrive to deal with the recalcitrant Paul. Police reports say that police were responding to an “irate passenger,” but this description does not match the calm demeanor that Paul is exhibiting on the security footage.
The Nashville Tennessean obtained the videos from the Metro Police Authority and posted them on their website today. Paul has been a vocal critic of obtrusive TSA “pat down” procedure and a proponent of what he calls sensible profiling so that government resources are not wasted on people who likely to not merit a full scan. Paul certainly meets that criteria and this incident lends added weight to his argument.
The presidential campaign of Sen. Rand Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul, immediately issued a statement following his son’s detention saying that this is yet another example of the “police state” in the country and he reiterated his intention to eliminate the TSA if he is elected president.
“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” read a statement from Ron Paul’s campaign. “One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities. The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe.”
A TSA official commented to POLITICO that Paul was “not detained at any point.” However, the video does not appear to suggest that Paul was at liberty to leave if he wanted.
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