Pat down a TSA agent, go directly to jail

UPDATED July 19, 2011

Is turnabout really fair play? Not according to the Federal Transportation Security Administration.

According to MyFox New York:

PHOENIX - We hear a lot of complaints about security screeners groping airline passengers. But now, a Colorado woman is accused of putting her hands on a TSA agent at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

Court records show 61-year-old Yukari Mihamae grabbed the left breast of the female agent Thursday at the Terminal 4 checkpoint. Police say she squeezed and twisted the agent's breast with both hands. Officers say Mihamae admitted to the crime.

There's no word why she touched the agent. Mihamae now faces a felony count of sexual abuse.

According to court records, she lives in Longmont, Colorado and is self-employed.

Woman Gropes TSA Agent's Breast at Security Checkpoint: MyFoxNY.com

That's right: When a TSA agent gropes a passenger, that is an "enhanced pat-down," conducted for "security" purposes. And when a citizen puts the exact same moves on a TSA agent, you're charged with felony sexual abuse, considered a Class 5 felony in Arizona.

The TSA has accumulated a long list of complaints alleging that their invasive touching constitutes sexual abuse. We realize Congress is very, very busy with a manufactured debt crisis and getting re-elected, but isn't anyone on the Hill paying attention to our Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights?

Update - July 19, 2011

Fox News reports that prosecutors have not been able to charge Mihamae with a felony, for two reasons. First, there was no proof of sexual intent (required for the sexual abuse charge). Second - and more importantly - TSA agents do NOT meet the standard of being law enforcement officers, so prosecutors admit they cannot charge her with assaulting a police officer.

Consistent with previous public statements, TSA simply says it will not tolerate assaults against their employees, but will continue groping ordinary citizens, as before.