The Kentucky senator was detained by TSA officials at the Nashville airport after setting off the alarm on a full body metal detector, then refusing to be patted down. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.
By NBC News and msnbc.com news services
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., has reportedly clashed with the Transportation Security Administration at a Nashville airport, according to tweets from his press aide and father, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.
At about 10 a.m. ET, Paul's press aide, Moira Bagley wrote: Just got a call from @senrandpaul. He's currently being detained by TSA in Nashville.
Soon after, Ron Paul wrote: My son?@SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. More details coming.
NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports that aides to Sen. Paul say he set off a full-body scanning machine while going through airport security Monday morning.
Paul reportedly raised his right pant leg, which may have set off the scanner. Paul, according to aides, said it was ?clearly a glitch? and asked to proceed through the machine a second time. The TSA demanded a full-body pat-down, which Paul refused.
NBC News' Tom Costello reports that, according to sources at the TSA, Paul was not detained, but was escorted by police out of the checkpoint.
In a statement to NBC News, TSA spokesman Greg Soule said, ?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. 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.?
Paul was eventually permitted through airport security, according to Soule. ?The passenger has since rebooked on another flight and was rescreened without incident,? he said in a statement at about noon on Monday.
Paul has been a vocal critic of the TSA. At a Congressional hearing on TSA practices and policies last summer, Paul criticized the agency for its controversial searches of children.
?You?ve gone overboard and you?re missing the boat on terrorism because you?re doing these invasive searches on six-year-old girls,? he said. ?I think you oughta get rid of the random pat-downs. The American public is unhappy with them. They're unhappy with the invasiveness of them.?
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Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216573-sen-rand-paul-has-run-in-with-tsa
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