TSA Denies Rand Paul Detention, Ron Paul Issues Statement Via Twitter

Earlier this morning, the news broke via Twitter that U.S. Senator Rand Paul had been detained by the TSA in Nashville after refusing to consent to a full-body patdown after setting off a body scanner. Both his director of communications and his father, Presidential candidate Ron Paul confirmed this on Twitter.

In response, a TSA spokesperson had this to say to Politico. You can see that they don’t actually reference Senator Paul:

When an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport. Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling.

And now, the TSA is doing some more PR via Twitter, as they have taken to responded to around a dozen major news organizations’ tweets about the incident. They are using the same response in each, saying “This passenger was rebooked on another flight and completed screening without incident.”

Although Rand Paul has yet to comment on the incident via Twitter, Ron Paul is using it as an opportunity to make a campaign promise:

His statement is as follows:

The police state in this country is growing out of control. One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities. The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe.

That is why my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in federal spending in one year, eliminates the TSA.

We must restore the freedom and respect for liberty that once made American the greatest nation in human history. I am deeply committed to doing that as President of the United States.

Both Ron and Rand Paul have been staunch opponents of the TSA for some time now. We will update this story when more becomes available.