Originally Posted by
saulblum
But exactly what action would that be? The original poster is either a terrorist threat or he is not. Merely confiscating his papers does not change that status.
The reality is that individual screeners are not LEOs, yet have the authority to determine that any item a passenger is carrying poses a threat and can therefore demand that any such item be "voluntarily" surrendered, with the threat of "do you want to fly today?" floating just over that voluntarily surrender.
Generally speaking, I don't know what that action should be. It would have to be determined on a case by case basis by properly trained and experienced professionals.
Specifically speaking, I don't feel that the OPs charts posed any threat and should not have been taken. I've said this previously in this thread.
I agree with your comments regarding the screeners, btw.