United Liberty

Remember Steve Bierfeldt? The Campaign for Liberty employee that was unlawfully detained by TSA in St. Louis because he was carrying a large amount of cash with him. Bierfeldt managed to catch the audio of his experience with TSA with his iPhone.

While being sued by the ACLU, TSA took some time to review its policies and has issued new directives to screeners:

TSA says it issued a management directive in 2007 telling screeners that any evidence of criminal activity discovered during searches “shall be referred to a law enforcement officer for appropriate action.” On. Sept. 1, that directive was revised, emphasizing that “screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security.’’ Indeed, even when illegal drugs are discovered, the policy notes, TSA can inform local law enforcement authorities and ask passengers to wait at screening checkpoints, but TSA officials do not have the authority themselves to detain people suspected of anything unrelated to aviation security.

A second directive this fall specifically addressed the issues raised in the ACLU’s lawsuit, stating that “traveling with large amounts of currency is not illegal,” and that to the extent bulk quantities of cash warrant searching, it is only to further security objectives.

One man with courage makes a majority.