It is well known to many that air travel within the U.S. is commonly a bit daunting primarily due to the contentious and controversial practices of Transportation Security Administration agents. Ever since the brutal attacks on Sep. 11, 2001 travelers and airport security have been butting heads literally over what flies and what does not inside airports and on planes.Yet another page in the ongoing drama has recently unveiled with the jailing of a prominent Philadelphia businessman and ensuing lawsuit against the TSA, Philadelphia police, and the Department of Homeland Security.

It has been two years since Roger Vanderklok walked through the wrong screening lane at the Philadelphia International Airport and had an encounter with TSA supervisor Charles Kieser that landed him in jail until 4 a. m. under charges associated with terrorism. What started as a simple misunderstanding as to the meaning of the term “organic matter” quickly escalated into a verbal altercation between the two men that resulted in Vanderklok’s appeal to file a complaint and his subsequent arrest after Kieser allegedly falsified the ongoing situation to police.

Vanderklok explains that after being checked and questioned about his possessions for 30 minutes, he made a comment regarding the misunderstanding that caused Kieser to become confrontational. Amidst the engagement Vanderklok says he calmly asked to file a complaint and while waiting to fill out a form was surprised by Philadelphia Police who had arrived to detain him. Vanderklok was ultimately moved to a precinct until he was arraigned at 2 a. m. when he was finally made aware that he’d been arrested for a bomb threat and threatening terrorism. He was able to get out of holding with the help of his wife two hours later paying 10 percent of his $40,000 bail. Vanderklok was quickly cleared of charges.

At Vanderklok’s hearing Kieser testified that he had observed Vanderklok becoming agitated. Kieser claimed that the traveling businessman went so far as to point a finger in his face and verbally made a bomb threat. However the events Kieser asserts are unsupported and surveillance video shows a calm Vanderklok with his hands clasped and no expression of agitation at all.

Evidence in this case is fairly condemning and Vanderklok’s lawyer Thomas Malone filed a suit on his behalf last week alleging that authorities willfully deprived his liberty. This is yet another stain on the already much tarnished appearance of the TSA.