A woman was found guilty of disorderly conduct for lashing out at the TSA at Nashville International Airport when they tried to give her and her daughter a pat down search.
Andrea Abbott, 42, refused to let her 14-year-old daughter to go through the body scanning machines at the airport in July 2011. She argued that she didn't want anyone to see their naked bodies.
As an alternative, Abbott and her daughter were sent through metal detectors and TSA Officer Karen King was assigned to give them a pat down. King testified that Abbott yelled at her before the pat down and said she didn't want anyone touching her daughter's crotch, according to the Associated Press.
Abbott was not flying that day. She just wanted to bring her daughter to the gate, but she was still supposed to go through the security procedure. She eventually allowed the TSA to perform the pat down on her daughter, but she refused one for herself.
Police officer Jeff Nolen was called to the scene. During the case, he said that he asked Abbott to calm down repeatedly, but she refused and cursed at him.
"You're not putting your (expletive) hands on me, this is (expletive)," he recalled Abbott saying, according to the Associated Press.
Officer Nolen then arrested Abbott who continued to curse and call the police pedophiles.
"She gave him no option," district attorney King said, according to the AP. "She put him in that position with her behavior."
The prosecution for the case said that Abbott's behavior prevented the TSA from carrying out their legal duties and she disrupted the entire security process for 30 minutes as activity at two security lines were halted. The security process should have taken a minute if Abbott had complied.
For several hours, jurors considered the charges and eventually convicted her. Abbott was set to face up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine for her behavior, but the judge gave her a year on probation instead since she has no criminal record. The judge wanted to ensure that she doesn't get into any more problems.
Defense attorney Brent Horst believes the trial was fair.
"She just wanted to stand on principle, because she felt that she had done nothing wrong," Horst told AP. "And I admire her for that."
This case got national attention when it first occurred. Abbott received support and donations from those who disagree with the TSA's practices and believe they're too intrusive.
"Since 9/11, we're losing a lot of freedom, and we have to draw the line somewhere," Horst said in closing arguments, according to the AP.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
