Congressman Says He Was Targeted For Grope Down By TSA

Rep says he was assaulted by TSA and then punished for complaining

Steve Watson
Infowars.com
April 25, 2012

A US Congressman has claimed that he was assaulted during a TSA patdown and was then targeted for future patdowns by the TSA after complaining about the incident.

Texas Rep. Francisco Canseco says he was inappropriately touched in private areas during a run in with the TSA earlier this month at San Antonio International Airport.

“The agent was very aggressive in his pat-down, and he was patting me down where no one is supposed to go,” Canseco, who describes himself as a “limited-government conservative”, told KENS 5 news.

“It got very uncomfortable so I moved his hand away. That stopped everything and brought in supervisors and everyone else.” Canseco added.

When the Congressman said he’d been assaulted, the TSA agent claimed that Canseco had actually assaulted him. The TSA says that neither man was cited in the incident.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

One week later Canseco was again singled out by the TSA in the same airport and selected for a pat-down.

“I did not see it as a coincidence,” he said. “I asked them why are you going to pat me down again, so we discussed it further and after discussing it further, they patted me down.”

When Canseco refused to allow the agent to touch his private areas a second time, police officers were called to the scene.

The TSA released the following generic statement regarding the incident:

“TSA incorporates random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport. Once a passenger enters the screening process, they must complete it prior to continuing to a flight or secure area.”
Canseco said his experience illustrated changes in the airport security are needed.”

“It is very important that Americans feel safe and secure as they travel in our nation’s airways – safe and secure from acts of terrorism and all that. But, I also think that TSA sometimes gets too aggressive, and it’s not just about me. It’s about every American that goes through those TSA scanners.”

KENS 5 news has requested the security footage from both incidents and the TSA is reviewing the request.

The TSA has a history of bearing grudges against commuters who issue complaints against the agency. A mother who was detained in a glass cell by TSA agents in Phoenix in 2010 said the incident was retribution for a previous complaint regarding confiscation of her breast milk.

Last year several Texas State Officials reported that they were subjected to forceful patdowns from TSA agents after they opted out of walking through irradiating body scanners. According to the officials, TSA agents admitted that the overly forceful patdowns were being used as a “form of punishment”.

Yesterday we reported on an incident where a TSA agent scrawled “Go to hell” on a complaint form after a commuter requested an explanation for why his luggage had been tampered with.

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Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.

This article was posted: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7:45 am

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