October 31, 2021
TSA, after Secret Court Filing, Removes
Mask Litigant from Terrorist Watchlist
Agency Quickly Reversed Course When
Kentucky Flyer Challenged Illegal Retaliation
Oct. 31, 2021
By LUCAS WALL
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – The Transportation Security Administration removed Friday a Kentucky frequent flyer it had placed on a terrorist watchlist last week after he sued the agency in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit challenging the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate.
Michael Faris of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, flew Saturday without hassle and mostly mask-free from Louisville to Ontario, California, via Denver only three days after filing an emergency motion with the 6th Circuit demanding he be removed from the watchlist. TSA had placed him on it within 48 hours of his filing suit against the agency Oct. 19 along with three disabled Ohioans who also can’t wear masks due to medical conditions.
TSA filed Thursday a declaration under seal explaining in secret why it had deemed Faris a threat to transportation security because he sued to overturn the mask mandate. A three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit denied Friday the emergency motion seeking to enjoin TSA from forcing Faris and the other three petitioners to endure any additional security procedures when flying. However, only hours after the court published its order, Faris checked in online for Saturday’s fights without incident, showing that TSA had removed him from the terrorist list.
“It’s obvious TSA did not want to suffer public humiliation of having to admit to the court or the public that it declared me to be a potential terrorist because I dared to exercise my First Amendment right to petition against the illegal mask mandate,” Faris said late Saturday after arriving in California, where he reports for work every 24 days as a helicopter maintenance supervisor. “Even though the judges denied my motion, I’ve clearly won this round as TSA rapidly did an about-face. No American should be labeled a potential terrorist for bringing a lawsuit against the government.”
Faris vowed to continue seeking public release of the secret documents filed by TSA with the 6th Circuit, noting that even though he’s now been removed from the watchlist, the agency’s action still constitutes blatant illegal retaliation.
“I’m going to do everything I can to force TSA to explain on the public record why it blacklisted a frequent flyer for suing it,” Faris said. “Until I brought this petition against TSA’s mask mandate, I had flown multiple times a month for the past seven years without ever being selected for enhanced security screening. TSA should be ashamed of its conduct.”
Faris has a medical exemption from wearing a mask, but numerous times airlines and TSA have refused to honor it. He’s part of a group of 13 disabled flyers plus a former flight attendant from nine states and the District of Columbia who filed six lawsuits Oct. 19 around the country charging TSA with exceeding its legal authority by continuing to extend a requirement that all public-transportation passengers don face masks.
“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.”
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