(CNN) — Authorities blocked U.S. Sen. Rand Paul at Nashville International Airport on Monday after the Kentucky Republican refused a pat-down at a security checkpoint, his spokeswoman said.
Paul told CNN that he went through a scanner at the airport and set off an alarm. He wanted to go through the body scan again instead of getting a pat-down — claiming that he showed Transportation Security Administration officers his knee and under his socks — but the agents refused his request, according to the Kentucky senator.
“When an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport,” TSA spokesman Greg Soule said. “Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling.”
The senator said that he didn’t think it was “appropriate” for him to have a pat-down, adding he should have been able to go through the scanner again.
“Is it too much to ask to have a little dignity when you travel? And shouldn’t an adult be able to get back in line and go through the scanner?” he told CNN. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
Categories: Americas
In my country, EQUAL JUSTICE for ALL.
The whole security procedures are a joke – whether in airports or stores or hotels. The only benefit is ‘job creation’, probably millions are working in such jobs now. Usama bin Laden should be given the Nobel Price in Economics, even after his death… Can any body tell me who created more jobs?