newjerseynewsroom.com

BY CHRISTINE SAVOIA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Republican Senator Rand Paul claims he was detained by the Transportation Security Administration on Monday after an “anomaly” set off the scanner in the Nashville International Airport and he then refused a pat-down.

The Kentucky senator – and son of GOP presidential nominee Ron Paul – was escorted out of the screening area by local authorities and missed his flight to Washington.

While the TSA denies he was “detained,” Paul alleges he was forced to remain in a cubicle and treated “aggressively.”

In an interview with Fox News, Paul said, “I was very aggressively told not to leave the cubicle. In my mind, I felt like I was being detained. I did step out of the cubicle one time to talk to the TSA. I was very forcefully told I needed to reenter or face more serious repercussions.”

While Paul was eventually cleared and scheduled onto another flight, he used the opportunity to publicly criticize the TSA and its procedures, something he has done in the past. The senator was especially vocal when a 6-year-old girl, also from Kentucky, was subjected to an “invasive” pat-down in June 2011.

In the interview with Fox, Paul said, “The fact we're taking an adult diaper off an 88-year-old woman. The fact we're doing invasive exams of 6-year-old girls, it needs to change.”

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Paul and his father, also a U.S. Representative, “have helped lead the charge against what critics call excessive federal intrusion, from healthcare to body searches.”

His father tweeted about the incident and issued a public statement against it on Monday, “noting that as president, he would eliminate the TSA,” according to CBS News.

Rand Paul argues that the TSA is wasting time and money by targeting the wrong kinds of individuals. According to the Christian Science Monitor, he suggested a "trusted traveler" program, “in which people who travel frequently and are known to be not a threat, like congressmen, don't have to be searched.”

Rand suggested to Fox that airports could have a special line, similar to the one currently used for pilots, for people who are willing to undergo background checks. He said it also allows the screeners to spend more time with "people that may be a threat to our country when they are spending less time with people who are just regular business travelers.”