Runner Roger Vanderklok was en-route to Miami for a half-marathon when TSA workers detained him after asking how to file a complaint. He told the Associated Press that he spent almost an entire day in a holding cell without police questioning him.
“It’s difficult to lose your control of existence,” Vanderklok said. “I was absolutely terrified.” He had never been arrested before
Vanderklok claimed the TSA supervisor lied to the police and in court when he said the 58-year-old threatened him during a January 2013 security check.
The TSA found a watch and power bars wrapped in a small pipe in Vanderklok’s bag, in which they thought the items might have caused great danger. TSA Supervisor Charles Kieser said that electrons and organic mass could be used to make bombs.
Kieser also said Vanderklok repeatedly pointed a finger at his face. In the April 2013 trial, Kieser testified the runner made bomb threats and said that he could possibly bring a bomb through the airport any day.
However, Vanderklok testified that he never said anything about a bomb.
“I don’t think PowerBars are consistent with bombings, nor are watches,” Vanderklok’s lawyer, Thomas Malone, said in court.
The judge quickly dismissed the threat charges against him and was released when his wife paid $4,000 of the $40,000 bond.
On January 23, Vanderklok filed a $75,000 lawsuit “seeking unspecified damages for what he considers a retaliatory arrest.”
