My thoughts exactly. TSOs don't have any arrest authority, and if they summon an LEO, that LEO won't do anything to the passenger (in situations like this) but will certainly have a talk with the TSO.

All I can say is that whenever I train new TSOs (something I've been doing on a regular basis in recent months), I make it absolutely clear that they are not law enforcement officers. The TSA curriculum, SOP and other policies also make it absolutely clear. There is nothing in TSA policy that supports TSOs threatening passengers with arrest.

The weak link here occurs whenever a passenger fails to submit a complaint to TSA. Passenger complaints are an effective way to document TSO misbehavior. Some in here refuse to go through the complaint process but don't hesitate to whine whenever they witness misbehavior.