A Pennsylvania man sued the federal government Wednesday, alleging that he was abusively interrogated, handcuffed and detained for five hours at Philadelphia's airport in August because he carried a set of English-Arabic flashcards as part of his college language studies.
Nicholas George, 22, of Montgomery County, Pa., a senior majoring in physics and Middle Eastern studies at California's Pomona College, charged that three Transportation Security Administration officers, two Philadelphia police officers and two FBI agents violated his constitutional rights to free speech and freedom from unreasonable seizure.
A Justice Department spokesman in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia police had no immediate comment.
Representatives of the FBI and the TSA said they would not comment on pending litigation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021002026.html?nav=hcmoduletmv