A man who attracted national attention by taking off clothes at a Richmond International Airport security checkpoint strongly believes in defending civil liberties, his father said.
Aaron B. Tobey, 21, was charged with disorderly conduct at the airport Thursday afternoon. He was on his way to Wisconsin to attend his grandfather's funeral, said Robert L. Tobey, a Charlottesville accountant.
Tobey said Friday that his son was unavailable for comment but that his protest was carefully considered and not a spur-of-the-moment action. He said his son "has strong feelings about the security procedures and about civil liberties."
"He feels that you willingly give up your Fourth Amendment liberties if you choose to buy an airplane ticket and get on an airplane. He just doesn't think giving up your civil liberties is worth the price of admission," said the older Tobey.
Were it not to attend a funeral, Aaron Tobey would not have flown, his father said. He also said that his son was wearing running shorts and not his underwear — as was reported by police — and was respectful when questioned by authorities.
"He did this in a very orderly fashion. He didn't jump up and down and bring attention to himself. He did none of that. He stood in line like a normal passenger going through the procedure," Robert Tobey said.
Airport police said Aaron Tobey was issued a disorderly conduct citation after the 2:17 p.m. incident at one of the security checkpoints.
Police said Tobey had taken off his pants and shirt, exposing the message "Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated," written on his abdomen.
He is to appear in Henrico General District Court on Jan. 10, police said.
"We discussed this a number of times before it happened," his father said. He said they also spoke after his son was interviewed by federal authorities and was allowed to resume his trip.
"His real points are to bring attention to the fact we give up our civil liberties regarding search and seizure when we choose to buy an airplane ticket and that should not be necessary," his father said.
"Secondly, he would like to start a dialogue in this country about how important our civil liberties are and what are they willing to give up in order to feel more secure," he said.
Tobey said he and his son, an architecture student at the University of Cincinnati, accept the need for airport security. But less physically intrusive methods would be more appropriate, Tobey said.
Many air travelers are upset by tough new anti-terrorism screening procedures in which they must choose between the full-body scans by detectors or pat-down searches.
"I am proud of my son," Robert Tobey said. "I am proud of him for standing up for what he believes in, I admire him for having convictions and I admire him for having the courage to stand up for them."
"I think he made his point," Tobey said. "He'll probably protest something again, but I don't think he's going to do the same one."
fgreen@timesdispatch.com
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