TSA Detains C4L Staffer for Having Cash

Shortly after the Campaign for Liberty (C4L) regional conference in St. Louis, a C4L staffer named Steve Bierfeldt was detained and questioned for 30 minutes by airport police and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials. Evidently, the only reason they detained him was because he had $4,700 in checks and cash and had a variety of promotional material such as C4L and Ron Paul bumper stickers. The TSA even threatened to turn Steve over to the DEA and FBI for refusing to tell them why he had the $4,700. They eventually released him when another officer intervened.

Interestingly, Steve was able to record most of the interrogation using the cell phone in his pocket. He appeared later on "Freedom Watch," where Judge Napolitano played the recording and interviewed Steve about his experience.

Watch the "Freedom Watch" video clip here.

Some might argue that we can't see or hear anything that happened before the recording started in the interrogation room, so for all we know, Steve instigated the entire incident for publicity by being obnoxious to the TSA officers at the security checkpoint. That is a possibility, but I consider it unlikely given that none of the officers in the recording make any mention of such behavior -- only the "suspicious" nature of a preppy-looking white guy holding $4,700.

Could this incident have had anything to do with the recent MIAC "Modern Militia Movement" controversy? With such heightened publicity for Ron Paul surrounding that incident, perhaps a few officers in Missouri were simply a little annoyed when they saw Steve's stockpile of Ron Paul-related material.

Or maybe the moral of the story is this: When you carry a large amount of "anonymous" money such as cash or gold rather than keeping all of your money in Establishment bank accounts, the Establishment immediately views you as a suspicious Outsider.