The Rachel Maddow Show WEEKNIGHTS 9PM ETMorning Joe WEEKDAYS 6AM ETDeadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace Weekdays 4PM ETThe Beat with Ari Melber Weeknights 6PM ETThe Weeknight Weeknights 7PM ETAll in with Chris Hayes TUESDAY-FRIDAY 8PM ETThe Briefing with Jen Psaki TUESDAYS – FRIDAYS 9PM ETThe Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnel Weeknights 10PM ETThe 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle Weeknights 11PM ET
Oregon man who got naked at the airport found not guilty
Remember John Brennan?
John Brennan, the man who stripped at Portland International Airport to protest TSA screeners, celebrates by swinging on a light post outside the Multnomah County Courthouse following his trial Wednesday, July 18 in Portland, Ore.AP
Remember John Brennan? He’s the frequent flyer from Oregon who stripped down to nothing at the Portland International Airport’s security gate in April when faced with additional TSA screening measures.
Well, a judge has found Brennan not guilty of indecent exposure. Instead, Brennan’s act was deemed one of protest and protected speech.
When he reached the gate, he declined to go through the airport’s body scanners, instead choosing the alternative metal detector and body pat-down. After the pat-down, Transportation Security Administration officer Steven Van Gordon detected nitrates on the gloves he used to check Brennan.
“For me, time slowed down,” Brennan said. “I thought about nitrates and I thought about the Oklahoma City bombing.”
Brennan said before his trial that after months of angst every time he went through security, the nitrate detection was the final straw for him, a wordless accusation that he was a terrorist.
So he took off all his clothes.
A TSA agent stacked plastic crates high onto several carts and positioned them around Brennan. Port of Portland police arrested Brennan and took him to the Multnomah County Jail.
In this Tuesday, April 17, photo taken at Portland International Airport, John E. Brennan stands naked after he stripped down while going through a security screening area, as a protest against airport security procedures. The incident report said Brennan’s actions Tuesday evening caused some passengers to cover their eyes and their children’s eyes while others looked, laughed and took photos. He later told authorities he flies often and “disrobed as a form of protest against TSA screeners he felt were harassing him.” He missed his flight to San Jose, Calif.AP
