Update: Just days before the deadline for the government to respond to a lawsuit alleging that airport security violated the rights of a Ron Paul supporter, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued new directives about carrying large quantities of money through security. According to the Washington Times, the new policies “tell officers screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security” and that large amounts of cash don’t qualify as suspicious for purposes of safety. In response to the new guidelines, the ACLU has agreed to drop its lawsuit, which it had filed on behalf of Steve Bierfeldt in June 2009. The new directives will not be released unless a Freedom Of Information Act request is submitted.
July 1, 2009 article: Political Activist Detained by TSA Officials for Carrying Money; ACLU Files Suit
Coming just weeks after a Missouri Fusion Center bulletin warned of “rightwing extremists and militia members” supporting certain political parties, a political activist was detained by airport security after screeners spotted a metal box containing money. On March 29, 2009, Steve Bierfeldt was questioned for nearly a half hour by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials about the $4,700 he was carrying. According to Bierfeldt, the money was the proceeds raised from selling campaign merchandise at a regional conference. The ACLU, has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, whose department includes the TSA.
Bierfeldt was stopped by TSA officials at the Lambert-St. Louis (Missouri) International Airport and detained in a small room. Before he was questioned about the money, Bierfeldt activated his cell phone, which recorded the conversation between him and TSA officials. The recording reveals at least one TSA official berating Bierfeldt and others questioning him about why he was carrying
The ACLU alleges that Bierfeldt, director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, was “subjected to harassing interrogation, and unlawfully detained. It also says “that airport security officials should cease unreasonable searches and detentions that violate constitutional rights.” Larry Schwartztol, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, said, “Just as the Constitution prevents the police on the street from conducting freewheeling searches in the hopes of uncovering wrongdoing, it protects travelers from the kind of treatment Mr. Bierfeldt suffered.”