Ever wonder what our freedom is really worth?
Ever wonder why our leaders never point out the consequences of being CIVILIZED in warfare?
Hey JUST ASKING.
“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 ”
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.