WWI Artillery Shells Seized By TSA Were Hardly A Terrorist Plot
WWI artillery shells that were seized by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport were hardly were hardly a terrorist plot.
In a related report by The Inquisitr, several months ago the two oldest World War 2 veterans from Pearl Harbor met for the first time at age 107.
The TSA has not exactly been very popular due to some of the decisions being made over the years. One of the most infamous incidents is when a TSA agent demanded an elderly woman remove an adult diaper, although this past year the TSA blamed the government shutdown for when a 9-year-old escaped to Las Vegas. Just in the last three years, the number of TSA agents accused of taking bribes, taking naps, and generally not doing their jobs have risen sharply according to some reports. Worst of all, a leaked TSA document claims they’re not even necessary. Their internal threat assessments indicated that “literally zero evidence [shows] anyone is plotting to blow up an airline leaving from a domestic airport.”
In this case, the deadly threat the TSA was protecting America from was two teenage boys who went on a school field trip to Europe and came back with two WWI artillery shells. The two teens told law enforcement they managed to procure the WWI artillery shells from a French World War I artillery. Reports say they don’t know how they managed to get hold of them, but anyone who has ever been to Europe knows the fields are littered with the vestiges of WWI and WWII.
The interesting part is that these WWI artillery shells were cleared by British airport security but it was not until they reached American soil that the TSA declared them a threat. The room was cleared and explosive experts looked at the WWI artillery shells and determined they were French 77 mm shells that were completely inert and posed no danger to anyone. Although the TSA did not charge the teens with any crime, they still seized their souvenir before they could continue their journey home to Seattle.
The TSA also released this statement about the WWI artillery shells:
“As a reminder, large munitions are not permitted to be brought on board airplanes, in carry-on or checked baggage. Small arms ammunition, including under.75 caliber and shotgun shells, can be packed in checked baggage in accordance with airline policies.”
The absurdity of the TSA’s stance on the WWI artillery shells reminds me of my own vacation to Europe years ago. My brother purchased an inert World War II bullet necklace from a museum. Even though it cleared security on the European side the TSA seized his necklace upon arriving in the United States. Do you agree that it was absurd for the TSA to seize the WWI artillery shells?
