Forced Her To Send Valuable Instrument Through X-Ray Wrapped In Paper Towels

Flutist Jessica Schmitz was making her way through security with a flute literally made of gold at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport when she ran afoul of a TSO, and was nearly escorted out of the airport.

Schmitz told the classical music and culture website Slipped Disc that she has cleared airport security thousands of times with the instrument without an incident, and in many cases TSA had asked that the case containing her instrument be opened for inspection. But this encounter was different. The "power-hungry TSA agent" demanded that the headjoint be taken out of the case, placed loose in a bin, and run through the machine. Three supervisors insisted that the instrument "would be fine."

Schmitz told the agent that what he demanded was simply not an option.

Schmitz says she then closed the case to prevent damage to her flute, and she was told that if she didn't comply, she would be escorted from the airport. She was traveling to Houston for several appearances, and did not want to miss the flight. Eventually, at the suggestion of a different TSO, the headjoint was wrapped in paper towels and sent through the machine. Schmitz was allowed ... under observation ... to wrap the headjoint herself and place it in the bin.

But before she was able to continue, she was given a full-body pat down, which she says included her "groin, chest, and all." She was eventually allowed to proceed to her gate, and was told that the incident would not appear on any permanent record.

To compound matters, one agent told police that Schmitz had tried to hit him, which she says is not true, and she says that she was detained at the gate and "not allowed to leave" until police arrived.

"When given such unchecked power the TSA are threatening not only citizens’ personal safety and civil rights, but also in this case their livelihood," she told Slipped Disc.

FMI: http://slippedisc.com, http://jessicaschmitz.com/biography/