Originally Posted by
10mmAutoFan
The TSA has no power to detain a passenger. You may not be allowed to proceed to your gate until they've determined the suspicious item is not a threat -- but you can certainly make a decision not to wait in an area designated by the TSA -- and walk away in the opposite direction.
Faced with such a situation, I'd depart the area and head back to the ticket counter if I really thought that I would miss a flight.
Actually, I have departed a screening checkpoint -- after screening had begun -- and returned to the Delta counter to be re-booked when the local "blue shirt" and I disagreed on the screening procedure at IND.
Delta was very understanding and re-booked me for a different flight and recommended / gave suggestions to enter another checkpoint in order to evade the same "blue shirt' again.
It worked -- and worked quite well.
As
ralfp pointed out, leaving the checkpoint
in this situation might not have been a great idea. TSA already assumes all pax are guilty of something. In this case, TSA might have assumed a pax leaving a checkpoint was involved with the candy. All TSA has to do to detain a pax is summon a LEO.
LAX keeps having some kind of exercise where everyone is told to freeze and not move until the all-clear is sounded. I don't know what would happen if someone kept on walking, but I suspect TSA would get LE involved.