Man faces charges for defying TSA agents

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1875813.shtml
 
A Seattle man’s trial in Albuquerque on charges of making trouble at an airport
security checkpoint is getting attention from civil liberties groups all over
the country.
Phil Mocek was arrested at the Albuquerque Sunport in November of 2009 after he
refused to show I.D. to TSA officers at the security checkpoint. Police say
Mocek became disruptive. They arrested him and charged him with disorderly
conduct, refusing to obey an officer, criminal trespassing, and concealing his
identity. After many delays, his trial in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
was scheduled to begin this morning, but the judge ordered it postponed until
January 20.
Representatives from several civil liberties groups were at the courthouse this
morning, including Edward Hasbrouck of the San Francisco-based Identity Project.
“This is the first time anybody anywhere in the country has actually been
arrested and put on trial on criminal charges for anything that happens at a TSA
checkpoint,” Hasbrouck said.
Police told Eyewitness News 4 that when somebody becomes disruptive or offensive
in an airport, they have a responsibility to stop it - and that’s what they said
they did when they arrested Mocek.
Hasbrouck said the demand for Mocek’s I.D. started all the trouble.
“ What’s really at root in this case is whether travel is a right that we have
under the Constitution - an ability to move about the country without having to
show papers - which has been one of the defining characteristics of American
freedom, “ Hasbrouck said. 
 
**exit question:  is that really a right?  Is that really something that is a
defining characteristic of our freedom?  I can agree that some things are too
restrictive, but I shy back from making it that intrinsic.  As near as I can
tell, it has never been a huge civil rights issue.
 
**side note, while I hate the whole TSA screening, I don’t actually mind the ID
aspect, at least I know that no one else is going to ‘jack my airline ticket.

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