Originally Posted by
ESpen36
I suspect what happened is that the officers felt that the pair of pliers was a "concealment" because they were hidden inside the lining of your bag (which is why you didn't notice them and remove them before your trip). It was an innocent mistake on your part. But to the officers, it might have looked like you were trying to sneak the pliers through the checkpoint without proper inspection.
It doesn't really matter what you said about the repair shop (just a story, after all); what matters to them is what the evidence shows....and frankly, if it weren't what you said it was, it would seem a lot like a concealment.
Potential concealment = less likely for TSA to want to trust you.
You could apply for Redress, but that process is more for pax who continually get SSSS.
Concealment of what? It's a permitted item; it doesn't matter what it is. This is the problem with the TSA mentality, fostered by telling them they are on the "frontlines" against 3-inch pliers.
OP, the problem is finding somebody in the TSA who will admit that they are in authority. "Pre-check," as a program of the US government, is not a favor to be granted or withheld on a whim; it is the right of everybody who meets the requirements. The problem is that the TSA keeps things as secret as they can (as I would, if I were in charge of an organization as badly run, and as detrimental to aviation security, as it is) and I'm sure they have no one in charge of protecting the rights of passengers, nor any official avenues of appeal.
Maybe you can file a Freedom of Information Act request about your case? That would give you an idea where to start looking for satisfaction. You may have to sue them, but you have to be an activist to be willing to take on the aggravation. If you do sue them, consider suing everyone involved, in their personal capacity, for damages. I think there are good-faith arguments that can be made, considering how greatly their actions deviate from any rational understanding of their jobs - keeping
prohibited items off planes.