Becca Aaronson and Thanh Tan
Texas Tribune
Well, it’s true. There’s never a dull moment at the Texas Legislature. The House and Senate were going about their regular end-of-session business on Wednesday when loud screams could be heard coming from the rotunda. Outside the chambers, a group of mostly men and a few women were screaming, “Cri-mi-nal! Cri-mi-nal!” and “Treason! Treason!”
It didn’t take long for reporters to locate the ringleader: Alex Jones, the controversial radio host and filmmaker who describes himself as a staunch constitutionalist. He is also a supporter of the 9/11 truther movement, which has accused the government of orchestrating the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. So who’s his beef with now? The federal Transportation Security Administration — and the Texas Senate.
“Every one of [those senators] is an enemy of the Republic and the Republic of Texas!” he bellowed.
On Tuesday night, the Senate pulled down the so-called TSA “groping” bill. HB 1937 would have allowed Texas to criminalize “invasive” airport security searches by federal TSA agents if they “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” touched the anus, breasts or genitals of travelers. The bill was expected to pass until the U.S. Department of Justice intervened and sent a letter to the state threatening to cancel flights and close airports statewide if the legislation became law. In response, several senators dropped their support.
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