Upon returning from Davos, Switzerland where I covered the World Economic Forum Summit, I was stopped multiple times and repeatedly “randomly searched” by TSA.
Let’s break down my 18 hour travel day and all the barriers I had to go through to get home.
I arrived at the Zurich airport at 3:30AM to get my bags checked. Prior to the flight, I was unable to check-in online which I thought was a little odd. I got my boarding pass and got ready to go through security. I assumed it would be a more rigorous process than domestic travel considering it’s an international flight.
I got to the first checkpoint where I was able to go through with ease, but I did have to go through a secondary screening. My carry-on bag had to go through the scanner twice, and then they took all the items out and separated them. Up to this point, I did not think anything was unusual.
I then landed in London, where there was another security checkpoint within the terminal I had to go through after landing. They scanned my boarding pass twice, looked at me, and directed me to the line where I had to remove every item from my carry-on bag to go through the scanner. I went through the normal security and was flagged again. There, I was led to a secondary screening, patted down twice, and had my feet and hands swabbed.
After being pat down and swabbed for explosives, I went to check my bags. This is where security tor apart the contents of my carry-on bag. My makeup bag was opened with products being separated, individual lip balm was taken out, then all contents were run through again. This was where I knew something was off. He swabbed my hands AGAIN and gave me back the contents of my carry-on bag.
By the time this all ended, I had to RUN to my gate because I only had ten minutes until my flight boarded. Once I got to my gate, security asked to see my boarding pass. They cross-referenced my name to a list in their hand. I asked to see the list to verify my name, and sure enough I was on a short list with only four other individuals. From there, I was escorted to another screening right next to my boarding gat. They searched my bags again, used a metal detector wand, and swabbed my hands and feet one more time. After all this, I was finally able to board my flight.
After eleven more hours of flying, I made it back to the United States. When I arrived at customs, I answered all questions normally and honestly. Security then took my passport and handed me a slip of paper to hang on to. I was told to get my checked luggage and go through an additional screening checkpoint, only after could I get my passport back. After another long series of questions, and my bags searched one more time, I was given back my passport. I recently scheduled a domestic flight after all this happened and it turns out my pre-check number is no longer visible on my boarding pass.
It’s not uncommon for conservative content creators and journalists to be subject to this sort of scrutiny when travelled. I would hope that this entire process I was forced to go through was coincidental, and that I was not intentionally targeted.
