A US appeals court has rejected a former college student’s effort to sue federal agents after he was stopped at an airport for several hours over Arabic language flashcards he was carrying.
Nicholas George says the Transportation Security Administration and FBI agents violated his constitutional rights during the August 2009 stop at Philadelphia International Airport.
A district judge rejected the agents’ assertion of immunity. But the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed yesterday and said the agents were justified in detaining George briefly to investigate.
Chief Judge Theodore McKee said they couldn’t “turn a blind eye to someone trying to board an airplane carrying Arabic-English flashcards with words such as ‘bomb’ and ‘kill.'”
Attorneys for George didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment today.