Protests - Part 67

 TSA Protest

Have you ever felt angst while going through TSA screening at the airport?  See what one Oregon man did when he felt unjustly accused at Portland International Airport in April, 2012.

When a TSA worker said he found nitrates on John Brennan's clothes, which could indicate explosives, Brennan took it as an accusation that he was a terrorist.

John knew that Oregon's indecent exposure laws say that public nudity is legal unless you have sex in public or you get undressed with the intent of arousing the sexual desire of another person.  That means getting naked at the airport would not be not illegal.

So John took off his clothes and said "See, I don't have any explosives."  When they asked him to put his clothes on, he refused.

TSA piled plastic crates around him, as seen in the video, to hide him from other travelers.  Then they had the police arrest him and take him to jail.

Above is a photo that another passenger took of Brennan.

At his trial in July, the Oregon judge found Brennan not guilty of indecent exposure.  But TSA fined Brennan $500 for violating a rule that forbids passengers to "interfere with, assault, threaten, or intimidate" TSA screeners, and a federal court upheld the fine.

So, if you're feeling annoyed while going through TSA screening, it's best to grin and bear it, not bare it.