TRI In The News

Student Arrested With 4th Amendment on Body Sues DHS and TSA

From The Johnathan Turley Blog
Original post available here.

The Rutherford institute, on behalf of Aaron Tobey, has filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Virginia. Aaron Tobey was arrested for disorderly conduct at Richmond International Airport (RIC) when he stripped down to his shorts exposing a portion of the Fourth Amendment written on his torso.

Aaron Tobey, an architecture student at the University of Cincinnati, was arrested and handcuffed after successfully passing through the security screening.

Government agents, including some from the Joint Task Force on Terrorism, questioned Tobey for 90 minutes before citing him for disorderly conduct and releasing him.

Tobey was flying to Wisconsin to attend his grandfather's funeral. Surprisingly, even with the time taken by this incident, he still made his flight.

Tobey used a magic marker and a mirror to write:

"Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated."

Two weeks later, Henrico County prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charge which carries penalties of up to $2,500 and 12 months in jail.

The complaint alleges violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Tobey is demanding $250,000.