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TSA: Sen. Paul treated like everyone else
The Transportation Security Administration defended its treatment of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at Nashville International Airport Monday, saying the lawmaker was treated like every other passenger it processes.
Paul was reportedly detained by TSA after he refused to take a pat-down from TSA officials. His father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), confirmed the incident on his Twitter page Monday.
TSA said it followed its normal procedure with the Kentucky senator, who has often sharply criticized the agency's pat-downs.
"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," the agency said Monday in a written statement. "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."
For its part, TSA said "the passenger," Rand Paul, "has since rebooked on another flight and was rescreened without incident."
Both Pauls have been vocal critics of the TSA, calling for the controversial agency to be disbanded.
"This kind of gets back to this whole idea of what we are willing to ... give up as a country," the senator said of pat-downs last summer during a hearing in which TSA Administrator John Pistole appeared before lawmakers.
"The press reports are horrifying," Ron Paul, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, said last summer during one of his weekly "Texas Straight Talk" audio addresses.
"Ninety-five-year-old women humiliated, children molested, disabled people abused," he continued. "Men and women subjected to unwarranted groping and touching of their most private areas, and involuntary radiation exposure.
"If the perpetrators were a gang of criminals, their headquarters would be raided by SWAT teams and armed federal agents," said Ron Paul.
—This post was updated with new information at 11:55 a.m.
