A man who stripped to his underwear at a Richmond International Airport checkpoint to protest security procedures won't face a criminal charge.
Richmond media outlets report that a disorderly conduct charge against 21-year-old Aaron Tobey of Charlottesville was dropped Monday after a hearing in Henrico General District Court. After his arrest, Tobey told police he was a student at the University of Cincinnati.
Commonwealth's Attorney Wade Kizer said Monday that Tobey's actions didn't rise to a level that would violate the disorderly conduct law.
Really?
Airport police said Tobey dropped trou and took off his shirt at an airport checkpoint on December 30. For anyone who couldn’t decode the message, a reference to the Constitution’s 4th Amendment was neatly printed across his chest and abdomen in crayon or marker.
The message read: "Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated," an airport official told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Tobey’s protest came about a month after the “Don’t Touch My Junk” controversy reached a peak just before the Thanksgiving travel period. At the time, a major national survey suggested Americans were not crazy about the new airport pat-downs and full-body scanners, but they disliked even more the thought of being seated next to a passenger who might be wearing bomb-laden underpants.
