October 19, 2021
12 Flyers & Ex-Flight Attendant File 6 Lawsuits
Across the Nation Challenging TSA Mask Mandate
Petitions Ask Courts of Appeals to Strike Down
Discriminatory Rule that Stops Disabled from Traveling
Oct. 19, 2021
By LUCAS WALL
A group of 13 flyers from nine states and the District of Columbia filed six lawsuits today charging the Transportation Security Administration with exceeding its legal authority by continuing to extend a requirement that all public-transportation passengers don face masks. The coordinated effort by a dozen disabled Americans and a former flight attendant who quit rather than enforce the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate used a special legal provision to file directly in six circuits of the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
At the direction of President Joseph Biden, TSA put the FTMM into effect Feb. 1. It was set to expire May 11, but got extended until Sept. 13. TSA then continued the requirement to Jan. 18, 2022. Petitioners ask the courts to declare the TSA orders illegal and unconstitutional to ensure they can never be extended again.
“TSA’s function is limited by law to address security threats. Congress has never given the agency power to regulate the public health and welfare,” the petitioners argue. “Wearing face masks has nothing whatsoever to do with transportation security.”
Petitions for review of TSA’s mask mandate were filed in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York; 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia; 5th Circuit in New Orleans; 6th Circuit in Cincinnati; 8th Circuit in St. Louis; and 11th Circuit in Atlanta.
Michael Faris of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, has to fly every 12 days for work as a helicopter maintenance supervisor. He is medically exempt by a neurologist from wearing a mask, but the airlines refuse to grant him an exception because of the FTMM. Faris was injured on a United Airlines plane when blocking his breathing caused him to faint during a flight. He smashed his face on a galley cart.
“As a person who has endured physical injury by the airlines due to these unconstitutional mandates, I am standing up for people like me,” Faris said. “We cannot allow TSA to continue down the path of discriminating against Americans with medical conditions who cannot wear a face covering.”
The group of petitioners also includes a Florida man and his 4-year-old autistic son who need to fly to Massachusetts for specialized medical care; a New York City businessman who has had to drive more than 25,000 miles during the pandemic because airlines won’t let him fly; a Missouri veteran who was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight for not masking; a Washington, D.C., globetrotter TSA refused to let through its checkpoint June 2 at Orlando International Airport; an Ohio couple who has been unable to use public transportation because of their health problems; an Allegiant Air flight attendant from North Carolina who quit over moral objections to forcing passengers to obstruct their breathing; and a Florida man who’s been harassed the few times he was allowed to fly mask-free and was banned from the local bus system.
Kleanthis Andreadakis of Henrico County, Virginia, wasn’t allowed to fly to Massachusetts to help his son move despite having a doctor’s note that he shouldn’t wear a mask. He had to drive instead and pay $250 for a trailer to attach to the moving truck to haul his car back to Virginia.
“I am taking a stand against these nonsensical mask mandates that have been forced on Americans by TSA,” Andreadakis said. “It’s absolutely appalling that our government forces us to sue for being denied rights already spelled out in laws enacted by Congress, laws the Biden Administration continues to ignore. We represent the tens of millions of Americans who can’t or don’t want to obstruct our breathing. We are standing up across the country to make our voices heard.”
The FTMM represents the greatest systemic discrimination against the disabled since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. Petitioners argue TSA’s mandate violates not only the ADA but also the Air Carrier Access Act; Rehabilitation Act; Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act; their constitutional right to travel; and other federal laws and international treaties. By regulating intrastate transportation and commandeering state employees to enforce the mask mandate, TSA’s orders also violate the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, according to the petitions.
Petitioners Faris; Lucas Wall of Washington, D.C.; and Charity Anderson of Toledo, Ohio, appeared on WWGH radio in Ohio this afternoon to talk about the new litigation.
Six of the petitioners are also engaged in the nation’s first class-action lawsuit against seven airlines for illegally discriminating against the disabled by refusing to transport them without masks on. The 13 plaintiffs in that case are suing Southwest, Alaska, Allegiant, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue and Spirit for conspiracy to interfere with civil rights. The amended complaint also charges the carriers with 29 other counts including infringing on the constitutional right to travel interstate and internationally; reckless endangerment; as well as breaking numerous provisions of the Air Carrier Access Act, Rehabilitation Act, and international treaties. That case, Wall v. Southwest Airlines, is before the U.S. District Court in Orlando.
JetBlue last week banned lead plaintiff Wall for suing it and asking for a mask exemption. He is a petitioner in the 11th Circuit case filed today. He’s also suing the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and President Biden for their role in the FTMM.
“TSA has no legal authority to keep extending its mandates forcing all transportation passengers nationwide to cover their faces,” Wall said. “It’s time for the courts to put a stop to this nonsense since masks are nothing but a charade that don’t reduce transmission of COVID-19 yet harm our health in dozens of ways. I hope the Courts of Appeals will act swiftly to strike down the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate.”
The petitions submitted today are: Abadi v. Transportation Security Administration, No. 21-2692 (2nd Circuit); Andreadakis v. Transportation Security Administration, No. 21-2173 (4th Circuit); Marcus v. Transportation Security Administration, No. 21-60808 (5th Circuit); Faris v. Transportation Security Administration, No. 21-3951 (6th Circuit); Eades v. Transportation Security Administration, No. 21-3362 (8th Circuit); and Wall v. Transportation Security Administration, No. 21-13619 (11th Circuit).
Donate to our legal fund on GoFundMe: Help End Federal Transportation Mask Mandate
Join our Facebook group: Americans Against Mask Mandates
Hi Lucas- Is there any way I can jump on this class action suit? I was placed on the No Fly List for Delta and received a stern warning from the Dept Homeland Security- but I have myself on video- I NEVER REFUSED to wear a mask, rather the flight attendant said he didnt like my attitude – I disrespected him. Thats why he kicked me off.
They would not back down- the whole plane was screaming at me to leave because the plane wouldnt push back unless I left BUT I HAD A MASK ON THe WHOLE TIME. The flight attendant claimed I refused to wear one but that was not the truth- the truth was he told me I disrespected him. He told the Capain and everyone else I wouldnt wear my mask. I have video tape of me calmly wearing my mask while the marshalls told me I was “selfish” for holding everyone up, people came up and were screaming at me throwing things at me until I started crying and left.
Now I am on the “no fly list’??? PS I am a conservative, professional woman (worked in financial services my whole life, am an author and have never had any problem with the law) I have been DISCRIMINATED, and HARRASSED and unduly placed on a No Fly List. HELP!!
Unfortunately there’s no way to join our lawsuits against TSA. We are suing Delta and six other airlines in a different case. E-mail me so we can talk about that one.