Originally Posted by gsoltso

Agreed. I was not there, and I have seen no other pics. I think the challenge is that capped tubes with some sort of material inside is something that we pay a great deal of attention to. Pipe bombs are a relatively simple item to make, this is one reason that TSA and to a lesser extent LEOs take them so seriously. When we have something that is anywhere close to a possible pipe bomb, we treat it like the real thing until the bomb dudes and dudettes tell us it is good to go. One thing that the regs state is something that is a realistic replica of a dangerous item like a pipe bomb are prohibited. This (depending upon the viewer) could fit that description. TSA takes a dim view on things that could easily be confused with "bad" items.