Originally Posted by
lovely15
Except they aren't detaining you as a private citizen, they're detaining you as a DHS employee. Not sure how that changes thing, but...
As noted, in most (possibly all) States a citizen's arrest is allowable under specific circumstances; to wit (eg. Nev)
A private person may arrest another:
1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.
2. When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence.
3. When a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.
Some states also include misdemeanors.
IANAL but a violation of administrative law, which is all the TSA has, is neither a criminal offense nor misdemeanor and thus does not meet any of the criteria. I think.
You're free to go, if they physically try to stop you then you can arrest
them for assault/battery. Their SOP (posted above) supposedly prevents them from trying but since many of them don't know or ignore it, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if one or more did so.
I'll contribute to the defense fund
.