");vwo_$('head').append(_vwo_sel);return vwo_$('head')[0] && vwo_$('head')[0].lastChild;})("HEAD")}}, C_940895_48_1_2_1:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) {var el,ctx=vwo_$(x);
/*vwo_debug log("editElement",".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)"); vwo_debug*/(el=vwo_$(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)")).html("Hello! David Brancaccio here. Do you want instant access to the free online course - “Economics 101” - to understand basic economic concepts?");})(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)")}}, R_940895_48_1_2_2:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) {
if(!vwo_$.fn.vwoRevertHtml){
return;
};
var el,ctx=vwo_$(x);
/*vwo_debug log("Revert","content","[vwo-element-id='1742482566780']"); vwo_debug*/(el=vwo_$("[vwo-element-id='1742482566780']")).revertContentOp(),el=vwo_$("[vwo-element-id='1742482566780']");})("[vwo-element-id='1742482566780']")}}, R_940895_48_1_2_3:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) {
if(!vwo_$.fn.vwoRevertHtml){
return;
};
var el,ctx=vwo_$(x);
/*vwo_debug log("Revert","content",".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1)"); vwo_debug*/(el=vwo_$(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1)")).revertContentOp(),el=vwo_$(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1)");})(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1)")}}},rules:[{"tags":[{"data":"campaigns.65","id":"runCampaign","priority":0}],"triggers":["12928443"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":0,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":16,"g":5}],"type":"g"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["12639747"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":64,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":48,"g":5}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":16,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":65,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":62,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959027,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":63,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["8536409"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":0,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":6}],"type":"g"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["12454059"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":64,"g":5}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":48,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":16,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":65,"g":5}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":62,"g":5}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951905,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":63,"g":5}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["8459768"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":951908,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":64,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951908,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":48,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951908,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":16,"g":6}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951908,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":65,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951908,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":62,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":951908,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":63,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["8639604"]},{"tags":[{"data":"campaigns.64","id":"runCampaign","priority":4},{"data":"campaigns.48","id":"runCampaign","priority":4},{"data":"campaigns.16","id":"runCampaign","priority":4},{"data":"campaigns.62","id":"runCampaign","priority":4},{"data":"campaigns.63","id":"runCampaign","priority":4}],"triggers":["10589191"]},{"tags":[{"data":"campaigns.39","id":"runCampaign","priority":4}],"triggers":["12454053"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":64,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":48,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":16,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":65,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":62,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959033,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":63,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["8536415"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":0,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":7}],"type":"g"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["12454062"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":0,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":5}],"type":"g"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["12454056"]},{"tags":[{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":64,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":48,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":16,"g":4}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":65,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":62,"g":2}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":39,"g":1}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"},{"metricId":959030,"data":{"campaigns":[{"c":63,"g":3}],"type":"m"},"id":"metric"}],"triggers":["8536412"]},{"tags":[{"id":"groupCampaigns","priority":2},{"id":"prePostMutation","priority":3}],"triggers":["8"]},{"tags":[{"id":"visibilityService","priority":2}],"triggers":["9"]},{"tags":[{"id":"runTestCampaign"}],"triggers":["2"]},{"tags":[{"id":"urlChange"}],"triggers":["75"]},{"tags":[{"id":"checkEnvironment"}],"triggers":["5"]}],pages:{"pc":[{"141375":{"inc":["o",["url","urlReg","(?i)^https?\\:\\\/\\\/(w{3}\\.)?mprnews\\.org\\\/story.*"],["url","urlReg","(?i)^https?\\:\\\/\\\/(w{3}\\.)?mprnews\\.org\\\/episode.*"]]}}],"ec":[{"1625289":{"inc":["o",["url","urlReg","(?i).*"]]}},{"2121531":{"inc":["o",["pg","eq","141375"]]}}]},pagesEval:{"pc":[141375],"ec":[1625289,2121531]},stags:{}}})();
;;var commonWrapper=function(argument){if(!argument){argument={valuesGetter:function(){return{}},valuesSetter:function(){},verifyData:function(){return{}}}}const getVisitorUuid=function(){if(window._vwo_acc_id>=1037725){return window.VWO&&window.VWO.get("visitor.id")}else{return window.VWO._&&window.VWO._.cookies&&window.VWO._.cookies.get("_vwo_uuid")}};var pollInterval=100;var timeout=6e4;return function(){var accountIntegrationSettings={};var _interval=null;function waitForAnalyticsVariables(){try{accountIntegrationSettings=argument.valuesGetter();accountIntegrationSettings.visitorUuid=getVisitorUuid()}catch(error){accountIntegrationSettings=undefined}if(accountIntegrationSettings&&argument.verifyData(accountIntegrationSettings)){argument.valuesSetter(accountIntegrationSettings);return 1}return 0}var currentTime=0;_interval=setInterval((function(){currentTime=currentTime||performance.now();var result=waitForAnalyticsVariables();if(result||performance.now()-currentTime>=timeout){clearInterval(_interval)}}),pollInterval)}};
var pushBasedCommonWrapper=function(argument){var firedCamp={};if(!argument){argument={integrationName:"",getExperimentList:function(){},accountSettings:function(){},pushData:function(){}}}return function(){window.VWO=window.VWO||[];const getVisitorUuid=function(){if(window._vwo_acc_id>=1037725){return window.VWO&&window.VWO.get("visitor.id")}else{return window.VWO._&&window.VWO._.cookies&&window.VWO._.cookies.get("_vwo_uuid")}};var sendDebugLogsOld=function(expId,variationId,errorType,user_type,data){try{var errorPayload={f:argument["integrationName"]||"",a:window._vwo_acc_id,url:window.location.href,exp:expId,v:variationId,vwo_uuid:getVisitorUuid(),user_type:user_type};if(errorType=="initIntegrationCallback"){errorPayload["log_type"]="initIntegrationCallback";errorPayload["data"]=JSON.stringify(data||"")}else if(errorType=="timeout"){errorPayload["timeout"]=true}if(window.VWO._.customError){window.VWO._.customError({msg:"integration debug",url:window.location.href,lineno:"",colno:"",source:JSON.stringify(errorPayload)})}}catch(e){window.VWO._.customError&&window.VWO._.customError({msg:"integration debug failed",url:"",lineno:"",colno:"",source:""})}};var sendDebugLogs=function(expId,variationId,errorType,user_type){var eventName="vwo_debugLogs";var eventPayload={};try{eventPayload={intName:argument["integrationName"]||"",varId:variationId,expId:expId,type:errorType,vwo_uuid:getVisitorUuid(),user_type:user_type};if(window.VWO._.event){window.VWO._.event(eventName,eventPayload,{enableLogs:1})}}catch(e){eventPayload={msg:"integration event log failed",url:window.location.href};window.VWO._.event&&window.VWO._.event(eventName,eventPayload)}};const callbackFn=function(data){if(!data)return;var expId=data[1],variationId=data[2],repeated=data[0],singleCall=0,debug=0;var experimentList=argument.getExperimentList();var integrationName=argument["integrationName"]||"vwo";if(typeof argument.accountSettings==="function"){var accountSettings=argument.accountSettings();if(accountSettings){singleCall=accountSettings["singleCall"];debug=accountSettings["debug"]}}if(debug){sendDebugLogs(expId,variationId,"intCallTriggered",repeated)}if(singleCall&&(repeated==="vS"||repeated==="vSS")||firedCamp[expId]){return}window.expList=window.expList||{};var expList=window.expList[integrationName]=window.expList[integrationName]||[];if(expId&&variationId&&["VISUAL_AB","VISUAL","SPLIT_URL"].indexOf(_vwo_exp[expId].type)>-1){if(experimentList.indexOf(+expId)!==-1){firedCamp[expId]=variationId;var visitorUuid=getVisitorUuid();var pollInterval=100;var currentTime=0;var timeout=6e4;var user_type=_vwo_exp[expId].exec?"vwo-retry":"vwo-new";var interval=setInterval((function(){if(expList.indexOf(expId)!==-1){clearInterval(interval);return}currentTime=currentTime||performance.now();var toClearInterval=argument.pushData(expId,variationId,visitorUuid);if(debug&&toClearInterval){sendDebugLogsOld(expId,variationId,"",user_type);sendDebugLogs(expId,variationId,"intDataPushed",user_type)}var isTimeout=performance.now()-currentTime>=timeout;if(isTimeout&&debug){sendDebugLogsOld(expId,variationId,"timeout",user_type);sendDebugLogs(expId,variationId,"intTimeout",user_type)}if(toClearInterval||isTimeout){clearInterval(interval)}if(toClearInterval){window.expList[integrationName].push(expId)}}),pollInterval||100)}}};window.VWO.push(["onVariationApplied",callbackFn]);window.VWO.push(["onVariationShownSent",callbackFn])}};
var surveyDataCommonWrapper=function(argument){if(!argument){argument={getCampaignList:function(){return[]},surveyStatusChange:function(){},answerSubmitted:function(){}}}return function(){window.VWO=window.VWO||[];function getValuesFromAnswers(answers){var values=[];for(var i=0;i=timeout;if(toClearInterval||isTimeout){clearInterval(interval)}}),pollInterval)}}window.VWO.push(["onSurveyShown",function(data){commonSurveyCallback(data,argument.surveyStatusChange,"surveyShown")}]);window.VWO.push(["onSurveyCompleted",function(data){commonSurveyCallback(data,argument.surveyStatusChange,"surveyCompleted")}]);window.VWO.push(["onSurveyAnswerSubmitted",function(data){commonSurveyCallback(data,argument.answerSubmitted,"surveySubmitted")}])}};
(function(){var VWOOmniTemp={};window.VWOOmni=window.VWOOmni||{};for(var key in VWOOmniTemp)Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(VWOOmniTemp,key)&&(window.VWOOmni[key]=VWOOmniTemp[key]);;})();(function(){window.VWO=window.VWO||[];var pollInterval=100;var _vis_data={};var intervalObj={};var analyticsTimerObj={};var experimentListObj={};window.VWO.push(["onVariationApplied",function(data){if(!data){return}var expId=data[1],variationId=data[2];if(expId&&variationId&&["VISUAL_AB","VISUAL","SPLIT_URL"].indexOf(window._vwo_exp[expId].type)>-1){}}])})();;
;var vD=VWO.data||{};VWO.data={content:{"fns":{"list":{"args":{"1":{}},"vn":1}}},as:"r5.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com",dacdnUrl:"https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com",accountJSInfo:{"pc":{"a":0,"t":0},"rp":30,"ts":1743870215,"noSS":false}};for(var k in vD){VWO.data[k]=vD[k]};;var gcpfb=function(a,loadFunc,status,err,success){function vwoErr() {_vwo_err({message:"Google_Cdn failing for " + a + ". Trying Fallback..",code:"cloudcdnerr",status:status});} if(a.indexOf("/cdn/")!==-1){loadFunc(a.replace("cdn/",""),err,success); vwoErr(); return true;} else if(a.indexOf("/dcdn/")!==-1&&a.indexOf("evad.js") !== -1){loadFunc(a.replace("dcdn/",""),err,success); vwoErr(); return true;}};window.VWO=window.VWO || [];window.VWO._= window.VWO._ || {};window.VWO._.gcpfb=gcpfb;;var d={cookie:document.cookie,URL:document.URL,referrer:document.referrer};var w={VWO:{_:{}},location:{href:window.location.href,search:window.location.search},_vwoCc:window._vwoCc};;window._vwo_cdn="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/";window._vwo_apm_debug_cdn="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/";window.VWO._.useCdn=true;window.vwo_eT="br";window._VWO=window._VWO||{};window._VWO.fSeg={};window._VWO.dcdnUrl="/dcdn/settings.js";window.VWO.sTs=1743792560;window._VWO._vis_nc_lib=window._vwo_cdn+"edrv/nc-e76f33e8accfa6859749db0f9a4d4230br.js";var loadWorker=function(url){_vwo_code.load(url, { dSC: true, onloadCb: function(xhr,a){window._vwo_wt_l=true;if(xhr.status===200 ||xhr.status===304){var code="var window="+JSON.stringify(w)+",document="+JSON.stringify(d)+";window.document=document;"+xhr.responseText;var blob=new Blob([code||"throw new Error('code not found!');"],{type:"application/javascript"}),url=URL.createObjectURL(blob);window.mainThread={webWorker:new Worker(url)};window.vwoChannelFW=new MessageChannel();window.vwoChannelToW=new MessageChannel();window.mainThread.webWorker.postMessage({vwoChannelToW:vwoChannelToW.port1,vwoChannelFW:vwoChannelFW.port2},[vwoChannelToW.port1, vwoChannelFW.port2]);if(!window._vwo_mt_f)return window._vwo_wt_f=true;_vwo_code.addScript({text:window._vwo_mt_f});delete window._vwo_mt_f}else{if(gcpfb(a,loadWorker,xhr.status)){return;}_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a)}}, onerrorCb: function(a){if(gcpfb(a,loadWorker)){return;}window._vwo_wt_l=true;_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a);}})};loadWorker("https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/edrv/worker-1135852b6bc11a94eb64017a8d120ad8br.js");;var _vis_opt_file;var _vis_opt_lib;if(window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.previewExtraSettings!=undefined&&window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.previewExtraSettings.isSurveyPreviewMode){var surveyHash=window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.plugins.LIBINFO.SURVEY_DEBUG_EVENTS.HASH;var param1="evad.js?va=";var param2="&d=debugger_new";var param3="&sp=1&a=940895&sh="+surveyHash;_vis_opt_file=vwoCode.use_existing_jquery&&typeof vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()?param1+"vanj"+param2:param1+"va_gq"+param2:param1+"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js"+param2;_vis_opt_file=_vis_opt_file+param3;_vis_opt_lib="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/dcdn/"+_vis_opt_file}else if(window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.mode!=undefined&&window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.mode=="PREVIEW"){ var path1 = 'edrv/pd_'; var path2 = window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.plugins.LIBINFO.EVAD.HASH + ".js"; ;_vis_opt_file=vwoCode.use_existing_jquery&&typeof vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()?path1+"vanj"+path2:path1+"va_gq"+path2:path1+"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js"+path2;_vis_opt_lib="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/"+_vis_opt_file}else{_vis_opt_file=vwoCode.use_existing_jquery&&typeof vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()?"edrv/vanj-55389bda300ad24b514d62f335aa126abr.js":"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js":"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js"}window._vwo_library_timer=setTimeout((function(){vwoCode.removeLoaderAndOverlay&&vwoCode.removeLoaderAndOverlay();vwoCode.finish()}),vwoCode.library_tolerance&&typeof vwoCode.library_tolerance()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.library_tolerance():2500),_vis_opt_lib=typeof _vis_opt_lib=="undefined"?window._vwo_cdn+_vis_opt_file:_vis_opt_lib;var loadLib=function(url){_vwo_code.load(url, { dSC: true, onloadCb:function(xhr,a){window._vwo_mt_l=true;if(xhr.status===200 || xhr.status===304){if(!window._vwo_wt_f)return window._vwo_mt_f=xhr.responseText;_vwo_code.addScript({text:xhr.responseText});delete window._vwo_wt_f;}else{if(gcpfb(a,loadLib,xhr.status)){return;}_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a);}}, onerrorCb: function(a){if(gcpfb(a,loadLib)){return;}window._vwo_mt_l=true;_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a);}})};loadLib(_vis_opt_lib);VWO.load_co=function(u,opts){return window._vwo_code.load(u,opts);};;;}}catch(e){_vwo_code.finish();_vwo_code.removeLoaderAndOverlay&&_vwo_code.removeLoaderAndOverlay();_vwo_err(e);window.VWO.caE=1}})();
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our
Privacy Policy .
Welcome back
to news for you
Sign in to your profile
Close Close Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is? A verification code has been emailed to
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Save
Imam Omar Shahin, one of the six Imams removed from US Airways flight in November 2006. The Muslim clerics say they were humiliated, and are seeking unspecified damages from the airline, the Minneapolis airport and, potentially, other passengers.
File photo/Tim Sloan/ AFP/Getty Images
(AP) Six Muslim men removed from a plane last fall
after being accused of suspicious behavior are suing not only the
airline but the passengers who complained - a move some fear could
discourage travelers from speaking up when they see something
unusual.
The civil rights lawsuit, filed earlier this month, has so
alarmed some lawyers that they are offering to defend the unnamed
"John Doe" passengers free of charge. They say it is vital that
the flying public be able to report suspicious behavior without
fear of being dragged into court.
"When you drive up the road towards the airport, there's a big
road sign that says, `Report suspicious behavior,"' said Gerry
Nolting, a Minneapolis lawyer. "There's no disclaimer that adds,
`But beware if you do that, you might get sued."'
The six imams were taken off a Phoenix-bound US Airways flight
on Nov. 20 while returning home from a conference of Islamic
clerics in Minneapolis.
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Other passengers had gotten nervous when the men were seen
praying and chanting in Arabic as they waited to board. Some
passengers also said that the men spoke of Saddam Hussein and
cursed the United States; that they requested seat belt extenders
with heavy buckles and stowed them under their seats; that they
were moving about and conferring with each other during boarding;
and that they sat separately in seats scattered through the cabin.
The plane was cleared for a security sweep, nothing was found,
and the jet took off without the imams.
The Muslim clerics say they were humiliated, and are seeking
unspecified damages from the airline, the Minneapolis airport and,
potentially, the John Does.
Omar Mohammedi, the New York City attorney for the imams, said
the intent is not to go after passengers who raise valid concerns
about security. But he suggested some passengers may have acted in
bad faith out of prejudice.
"As an attorney, I have seen a lot of abuse by the general
public when it comes to members of the community creating stories
that do not exist," Mohammedi said.
He denied the imams were talking about Saddam, and said that
their seats were assigned and that they requested extenders because
their seat belts didn't fit.
Some fear such lawsuits could weaken what has become the first
line of defense against terrorism since Sept. 11 - an alert public.
At airports and train and subway stations around the country,
travelers are routinely warned to watch for unattended bags and
suspicious activity and to notify authorities.
Ellen Howe, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security
Administration, which oversees security at all U.S. airports, would
not comment specifically on the imams' lawsuit. But she said the
TSA counts on passengers to help the agency do its job.
"`See something, say something' is certainly a common mantra in
this day and age," Howe said. "We would always remind passengers
to be both vigilant and thoughtful."
In reaction to the imams' lawsuit, Congress has taken steps to
legally protect passengers who report suspicious activity. Earlier
this week, the House approved an amendment to a rail transportation
security bill that would make passengers immune from such lawsuits,
unless they say something they know is false.
Mohammedi said he has not yet identified any of the complaining
passengers. An airport police report listed a passenger and two US
Airways employees as complaining about the imams. All three had
their names blacked out before the lawsuit was filed by invoking a
Minnesota law that allows it, airport spokesman Pat Hogan said.
Nolting said he has been contacted by several potential John
Does.
Passenger Pat Snelson, who lives in a Twin Cities suburb, said
he and his wife were not among those who reported suspicious
behavior. But he said his wife noticed the men praying, and he saw
them moving around the cabin while others were boarding.
"These guys were up to no good," Snelson said. "We think the
airport people did a real good job in taking care of it."
Bomb-sniffing dogs examined the men and their baggage. FBI
agents and other federal law enforcement officers questioned the
men for several hours before releasing them.
Billie Vincent, a former director of security for the Federal
Aviation Administration, said he is troubled by the mere attempt to
identify the passengers who raised concerns.
Airline passengers "are your eyes and your ears," said
Vincent, who now owns an aviation security company. "If attorneys
can get those names and sue them, you put a chilling effect on the
whole system."
Gallery
Fullscreen Slideshow Previous Slide 1 of 1
Imam Omar Shahin, one of the six Imams removed from US Airways flight in November 2006. The Muslim clerics say they were humiliated, and are seeking unspecified damages from the airline, the Minneapolis airport and, potentially, other passengers.File photo/Tim Sloan/ AFP/Getty Images
Next Slide