Trans woman live-tweets expulsion from airport by TSA
Trans writer and producer Shadi Petosky tweeted her expulsion from a US airport, alleging that she was discriminated against by the TSA.
In the tweets, Petosky said she was discriminated against by the Transport Security Administration officials in the Orlando airport.
She tweeted: “I am being held by the TSA in Orlando because of an ‘anomaly’ (my penis).”
Later she said she was asked her sex, told not to take photos or videos of the incident, and was subject to two “pat downs”.
She later tweeted to say that after “forty minutes, two body patdowns”, she was released, but at that point she had missed her American Airlines flight.
Petosky then said she was told it would cost nearly a thousand dollars for her to re-book, and that she was put on standby.
The animator and executive producer at PUNY, was tweeted by American Airlines, who said: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience you had while going through security, Shadi. We’re glad to see you’re rebooked.”
Petosky responded, “News to me! I am in the corner charging my phone. How? Where?”
At time of publication, Petosky responded to reporters on Twitter, alleging that American Airlines had called the police on her. She also refuted statements in the press in which American Airlines said she had been re-booked, and that she had been contacted by a representative from the airline.
A TSA spokesman released a statement following the allegations, saying: “Our officers are trained to properly screen members of the transgender community. TSA takes all potential civil rights violations very seriously and conducted a review of the incident. After examining closed circuit TV video and other available information, TSA has determined that the evidence shows our officers followed TSA’s strict guidelines. Supervisory personnel and a Passenger Support Specialist participated in the screening to ensure guidelines were met.”
Petosky’s tweets are ongoing, and are available here.
