Father & Son Detained by TSA & FBI For “Not Having a Criminal Record”

FederalJack.Com
March 26, 2011
by boztundj

(GCN LIVE)   In a breaking exclusive, GCN News has learned of yet more abuse at the hands of the Transportation Security Administration. A father and son were detained by the TSA at an airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, today (Tuesday, Mach 22.) The reason? None. At least nothing logical to any right-thinking American.


“My son has always used the old family name”, Barr said. His son Brady, who is 18 years old, chooses to go by the last name Barraza, which was their family’s Basque surname, pre-Ellis Island.

Despite having never had any issues in the past with air travel, “today they decided to make an issue”, Barr said. “Even though [my son] had Supreme Court case and other federal cases he doesn’t have to get the permission of a judge to use the old family name.”

“Since I was with him, they [the TSA] also the questioned me as his father. I have a driver’s license that doesn’t have a picture on it for my own personal reasons. It’s the law; it’s allowed in Arkansas.”

“It was funny; because we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by five armed Little Rock police officers that they had called in, who then began to question us,” Barr said. “They ran my license and said ‘it shows that it’s a legitimate license, but you have no [criminal] record, so it’s like you don’t exist.’ So now I’m being tormented because I haven’t gotten any speeding tickets and I haven’t broken any laws.”

Barr told GCN News that he had to deal with the TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Little Rock police.

“They’re exerting their authority,” he said. “They had the Federal Manager of the assistant in charge of security and a separate investigator from DHS. We were informed that when we entered the security area that we are giving up our right against search and seizure and that we are willingly subjecting ourselves without due cause.” Barr told the authorities that sounded un-Constitutional, which was greeted by silence.

Barr’s son Brady Barraza (Barr) was then told that Washington D.C. needed to be made “aware” that he travels with a “questionable” name. (Racial and ethnic profiling, anyone?) Barraza also does not have a social security number. “He doesn’t exist in the system,” Barr said.

The Barrs’ ordeal became even stranger when an agent asked them the question “Are you sovereign?” When asked what that meant, Barr was told “There have been threats from sovereign groups against the TSA and/or DHS.” Therefore, the new Stasi-like Borg bureaucracy is “concerned” about people who don’t have the “right” papers or who lack an SSN.

Needless to say, despite having an hour and a half before their flight departure, the father and son were detained long enough to miss the flight. “I don’t know if it was ineptitude or indifference, but they did know about our flight. We missed our flight, but our baggage didn’t. Our baggage is now in the air on the way to California, although we were not allowed to fly.”

Authorities told Barr that his “record is clean, so it’s like I don’t exist.”

In the meantime, while waiting 12 hours for his replacement flight, Barr was told by an investigator from DHS that he had been cleared to fly, but his son hadn’t. The investigator informed him that Brady would not be allowed to fly unless he changed the surname on his ticket from Barraza to Barr. No reason, even an irrational one, was given.

As it stands, father and son Chris Barr and Brady Barraza have been detained for an entire day, forced to forfeit their Constitutional rights, and harassed by three Federal Agencies.

Barr did say that the Little Rock police were the easiest to deal with, and tried their best to expedite the process, but their efforts were blocked by the FBI, who claimed they had to do more investigation surrounding the “sovereign groups threat” that was posed by:

• A father and son traveling together with different versions of the same familial surname;

• The son having no Social Security Number;

• The father possessing a legal state driver’s license without a picture;

• Neither party possessing a criminal record.

In short, this father and son are what most people would consider to be model citizens.

This story needs to go viral. Why should law-abiding American citizens be forced to put up with harassment and abuse? What crimes have Barr and Barraza committed?

And what is their legal redress against unlawful detainment? What is their financial redress against emotional stress, lost time, money, and business?
The American people have the right to mobilize and organize against an out-of-control federal agency. It is time to use our rights or lose them.

******

UPDATE: Brady Barraza called GCN News at 5:26 p.m. CST to let us know that he and his father have finally been released by the TSA, DHS, and FBI, and are boarding their flight to California. That makes this a total of over 18 hours of unlawful detention, abuse, and harassment. Look for a follow-up story on their ordeal soon. - Rachael Woodhouse, GCN News.