Tulsi Gabbard Placed On TSA Watchlist

According to a Wednesday report from Matt Taibbi, the former Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), a one-time presidential candidate, has been placed onto a threat list by the TSA. Gabbard is well known for her opposition to Vice President (then Senator) Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential primary, and for her realist foreign policy views, particularly on Syria.

Beginning two weeks ago, Gabbard and her husband have found their boarding passes marked with the “SSSS” designation, colloquially called “Quad S,” indicating that the passenger is on a threat list and subjecting the passenger to lengthy “random” searches. The designation also means that a Gabbard will have (unbeknownst to her) two explosive detection canine teams, a transportation security specialist, a plainclothes TSA supervisor, and three federal air marshals on any flight that she is on.

Gabbard, who is also an Iraq War veteran and current Army reservist, recalled the incredulity of a TSA agent in seeing someone with a military ID get flagged as a threat. “Why are you Quad S? You’re in the military,” the agent asked Gabbard. 

“That’s exactly what I’m wondering,” replied Gabbard before adding, “The only thing I can think of is, I work in politics.”

Speaking on what this meant to her as a veteran, Gabbard commented:

I enlisted because of the terrorist attack on 9/11, I was like a lot of Americans. We enlisted to ensure the safety, security, and freedom of the American people and go after the terrorists who attacked us. And so now to have confirmation — I guarantee there are other men and women in uniform or veterans now being targeted.

Gabbard also pointed to the documents released in a suit against a now-disbanded Homeland Intelligence Experts Group, headed by the former CIA Director John Brennan. The group included as “indicators for extremism or terrorism” innocuous things such as support of the former President Donal Trump, military service, and religious practice. 

Gabbard was placed on a watchlist under the TSA’s “Quiet Skies” program, which was expanded after the events of January 6, 2021, to include those who were present at the capitol. Gabbard, who was not at the Capitol at the time, is the most notable American politician to be placed onto this list.