What is what is that mean? They do not want you in there. This is a government building, okay? >> Listen, these people work for me. >> have ID, sir? Have I broken the law? Sir, you're on right now you're on private property. And I'm going to ask you again, cut it off, let's talk right quick. Private property? >> Let's talk. When power is used the wrong way, even a simple demand for ID can turn into a big mistake, and the camera captured it all. Well, why are you filming in this area? Because I'm a journalist. Okay. Am I required to talk to you? And while you're here in this building, in a government building, and they do not want you here, yes. When police try to control the situation through authority, they may not realize it could lead to legal trouble for themselves. A man walks into a government building and begins recording. But within seconds, the atmosphere quickly turns tense when employees inside notice the camera. A demand for him to leave the building is made, and things begin to spiral beyond what anyone expected. Sir? Sir, there's no video or audio recording in this building. It's posted on the door. I'm going to have to have you go outside. I do what I want, thank you. Wow. All right. All right. Thank you. One second. Sorry. I forgot about that. Sir? You've been asked to leave. Let's go. It's posted right on the door. Come, let me show you. Please. Come to the door. Got it? Now, come on, look. Sir? All right. What is that? Oh, sweet. USC 2721. Can you look that up? I certainly can. You want to look it up before you exit? Hello. Hi. Oh, boy. Yeah, but it's right there, right on the door. Just minutes after being asked to leave the building, the situation begins to grow tense. When police arrive and repeatedly demand his identity, the cameraman firmly questions his rights. And at that moment, the confrontation truly begins to heat up. That's driver private citizen. That's driver Woah. Hello. I don't know why you guys are here. Excuse me. Customers are trying to come in. Thank you. Hey. What's your name? I don't know who Hey is, and I don't know who you're talking to right now. I'm trying to talk to you, and you keep turning around on me. Am I required to talk to you? And while you're here in this building, in a government building, and they do not want you here, yes. Okay. So, Can you leave these people alone, please, so we can talk? I wasn't bothering these people. They were bothering me. >> told you not to go in, okay? Well, what does what does that mean? They do not want you in there. This is a government building, okay? >> Listen, these people work for me. >> have ID, sir? Have I broken the law? Right now, you're about to. Do you have ID, sir? You're about to break the law. >> No, I'm not. Do you have ID? No. You're trespassing on government property, okay? You can trespass on government property? Let me get a sergeant here. Uh he's on his way, okay? Do you have ID on you, man? No. What's your name? Am I being detained for a crime? What crime? Right now, you're being detained for trespassing, okay? Trespassing on government We're asking you to leave, and you do not want to cooperate with us. Obstruction and trespassing, okay? Do you have your ID, sir? No, I do not have my ID. What is your name, sir? I'll speak with your sergeant when he arrives. Go here. Let's go outside, guys. I'm told outside I'm fine. Let's go. Outside. Come on. Outside. Sir? Outside before we make you get outside, okay? >> a lawful order? What do you mean? >> yes, I'm giving you a lawful order. Please Please exit the building, okay? Can you please exit the building? If I don't, will you arrest me? Well, we'll discuss that in a minute. Can you please exit the building? If I'm being lawfully asked to leave the building >> lawfully asked to leave the building. Please leave the building, sir. All right. The confrontation now seems to reach a stalemate. Police continue insisting that the cameraman is violating the law, while he repeatedly asks them to point to the specific statute he has broken. As neither side is willing to back down, everyone begins waiting for a higher-ranking officer to arrive. It's a good thing this isn't the first time we've done this. How long till the supervisor gets here? He's on his way. All right. You can't trespass citizens unless a law's been broken. State versus Colby. I've been in the 400 government buildings all over this state, gentlemen. So, what brings you here today? The fact that I haven't been to this one. Okay. Yeah. Last thing Last time this happened, DeSoto County, went into the DMV, ladies freaked out, Dennis wasn't there. Officer Matos of the Arcadia Police Department shows up, says the same thing, you're trespassing, twists my arm behind my head, says got to get off the property. We leave, sue him, 3 weeks go by, go right back to the same building, no one says a word. We work work Uh well, they've got 50 cameras in there, so that's not really an excuse. I'll buy but um the the fact is is the citizens pay for this building, and we pay for these employees. State versus uh uh Smith versus City of Coming, 11th Circuit Court, states that the citizens have a right to record their public officials, public employees, in the course of their public duties. It only makes sense. I don't know of a boss that wouldn't record his employees. What's what's your agenda? What are you trying to uh My agenda is to come in here and videotape my public employees and not have my rights violated. We see that's already messed up today. But in a couple other places I was at earlier today, no problem. So, I was in uh Haines City yesterday, Davenport, Lake Hamilton, not a problem. City Hall, Post Office, breezed by. But every once in a while you get people that uh get hurt feelings, and then they call the feelings enforcement I'm law enforcement, and uh and you guys come out here to try to enforce their feelings. The conversation now shifts from tension to a discussion about the law and citizens' rights. The cameraman recounts similar incidents that have happened before, prompting the officers to reconsider the situation more carefully. But everyone is still waiting for a clear decision. Um no. Sergeant still coming or? Okay. Yeah, he should be here shortly. I don't know where he was coming from. All right. Traffic is actually Yeah, traffic is not really that I guess he didn't feel that that guy needed to leave though, huh? That's weird. Well, I think it's more of a >> [snorts] >> Right. I mean yeah, I mean Absolutely. No. No. Trust me, I've been I've been in both situations. I've been in where the cop just came right up and, you know, said, "Give me your name, you're being trespassed." And then I said I don't have ID. Well, now you're arrested. Well, that's another lawsuit. So, I try to keep the citizens off the hook for, you know, bad mistakes. Oh, sweet. Lieutenant. No, not him. Not him. Oh. Oh. Sorry. I knew I was just playing. I'm hamming it up for the camera. >> [laughter] >> That's fun. After several minutes of debate, the situation appears to calm down. The officers begin listening more instead of simply giving orders. But the story isn't over yet, because in just a few moments, another exchange will reveal even more. Working our rights. Just in the public places, willing to do that. Now, they So, if I could just ask you one question. Yes. What is it that I can do to help you out? Actually, I just tell these guys to leave us alone. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, the the the corporal Yeah, he put his hands on me. He talking he trying to get violent. He was trying to get violent. Okay. So, and and I wanted to let let them know that that this that this that this law that they're that this law that they're talking about here, >> [music] >> that applies to them keeping drivers' information private. >> Sure. has no application to citizens. Absolutely. Just like HIPAA does it. So, You're allowed to go wherever wherever the general public is allowed to. That's exactly right. So, I just I just wanted to walk in here and take a quick sweep, and then they start freaking out. Okay, look. Can I can I can I can you give me 1 second to talk to my boss? Yeah, go ahead. And this whole education valuable to all of us. It'll save you money out of your own pocket, cuz like I said, qualified immunity. Yeah, because I'm I'm actually teaching citizens on my channel now how to sue for stuff like unlawful detainment, stuff like that. So, now lawyers won't take those cases before cuz there's no money in it, but you know, citizens $400 [snorts] to file the the paperwork if they do it pro se, just takes a little bit of time. So, this way everybody's working on the same set of laws. So, so if they film here, you think this video is good enough? But, some people want to sue. >> And they will sue, and they will and they have won. Yeah, I've won. I don't know. He kept locking the door, which is actually against the fire code. I know in this, too. According to this, wait. Sorry to break your rights. >> [snorts] >> Imagine if there was a fire in there and he locked the door and couldn't get out. Door's not locked on the inside. Oh, it's not? Nope. You can go in there. >> [music] >> Yeah, you can go in there. They're fine. They'll they'll move for you. What seemed like a confrontation that could have ended in handcuffs instead ended with an apology. And that moment spoke volumes about citizens' rights and the responsibility of those who enforce the law. Up next, a simple check of recording rights at the airport suddenly becomes tense the moment the camera starts rolling. Just minutes later, the arrival of security officers completely changes the atmosphere around the screening area. Just curious, what are you guys doing? Excuse me, we're recording. What for? Excuse me? And at this point, you you can't record past that point over there. That's the checkpoint. I was just kind of kind of curious, a little little suspicious, so I had to ask you. Um Yeah, it's all right. It's all right. It's okay. All right. Okay, thank you. It's cool, it's like a little waterfall effect on the wall there. It's pretty nice. So, ticketed passengers only past this point. This is where you can enter. Go through here. Okay, so this is non-crew members. So, if you're like a pilot or stewardess or you work, I guess, for TSA, you got a little fast track there, gets you by wherever you need to go. So, hopefully that gentleman goes and gets educated. So, there's a nice view right here of outside. Plus, you could look down into the lobby of the area. I don't know what these guys over here are doing. They're not working. I don't I don't know if we pay people to stand around at airports now, but I guess so. As the cameraman continues recording around the security checkpoint, everything initially seems normal, but just minutes later, a security officer approaches with a completely different attitude. From that moment on, the atmosphere at the airport begins to change. Is there a reason as to why you're filming? None that I want to tell you, sir. None that I want to tell you. You're not supposed to be filming in the checkpoint. Okay. Thank you. The TSA requires that all shoes must be removed before the screening process. So, again, this is where the passengers are going to come. They're going to go through here. Get the checkpoint. Now, these signs up here indicate what's allowed, what's not allowed. Uh obviously, it says guns up there. I don't know who'd bring a gun to an airport. I guess maybe if you were a security consultant, private detective, something along them lines. I'm going to smell the GSP. Good. You know you can't film in this area, right? Absolutely, I can. I've got permission from TSA. It's right on their website, TSA. >> people that told you that? The federal TSA. >> Do me a favor, cut it off, let's talk right quick. >> I don't cut it off. I'm a journalist. For who? Activism News Network. So, what do you So, you say you can film in this area? I damn sure can. Do me a favor, you Right now, you're on private property. And I'm going to ask you again, cut it off, let's talk right quick. Private property? Let's talk. Talk about what? Talk about why you're filming in this area. Because a journalist has a >> for? I just told you, Activism News >> Let me see a journalist ID. Pull it out for me. Take it out for me. I'm not taking it off. Well, you need to step back from me. I didn't step to you. You walked up to me. We got an investigation >> a body camera, too. Good. Now, I'm going to ask you again, who do you work with and what are you doing here? Activism Let me see a government ID. The government doesn't issue journalist IDs. Let me see your driver's license. I don't have one. I don't drive cars. So, what are you filming for? That's my question. I'm going to ask you again. What are you filming for exactly? Matters of public interest. >> Public interest? Yes. Now, like I said, you need permission. Even when we get journalists who work for TV networks, they still have to go to administration before they can film in this area. Really? The exchange quickly becomes tense as the security officer repeatedly questions the cameraman about his identity and the purpose of filming. But, the man holding the camera doesn't back down. He even presents arguments that make the situation more uncomfortable. And just seconds later, everything begins to escalate. Yes. Well, the TSA already gave me permission. >> What's TSA to give you permission? TSA. Can you get one of your managers for me right quick? Yeah. Matter of fact, tell them to look at tsa.gov under the filming procedures. Thank you. Now, do me a favor. I'm going to ask you Let me see your picture ID, sir. I don't have one. What what are you >> have a driver's license or anything? I just told you. Are you Can Am I speaking Spanish? We're not going to play these games with you. You're speaking perfect English. Okay, good. Then you already heard >> the purpose of you filming right now? How many times do I say it? Say it again. Matters of public interest. So, what's the interest right here? TSA. What are you interested in what? I'm done speaking. 588 584, can you meet me up here, please? >> [snorts] >> Right outside screening in the concourse. And run. Attention passengers. The TSA has limited the items you may take through this screening checkpoint. Please check with your air carrier for further information. >> [clears throat and snorts] >> It says right on TSA website that you are allowed to do that. You think they would know the policies. Perfect, that's what I did. Excellent. That's exactly what I did. I got my supervisor coming cuz apparently these gentlemen here They said good review of your guys' website. As the argument over the right to film begins to heat up, the cameraman suddenly presents information taken directly from the security agency's own regulations. This makes the situation far more uncomfortable for those trying to stop him. All right. Deal with us. Yeah. Okay. You should be social distancing. I am. I didn't ask you. You freaking punk. >> I'm not going to debate with you right now. We had we had a different point right now. Practice your fifth amendment, which you don't have cuz you don't have rights. Mhm, you have privileges. Yes. Now, what does it say here on the tsa.gov website? Can I take film and photos at a security checkpoint? TSA does not prohibit photographing, videotaping, or filming at security checkpoints as long as the screening process is not interfered with or sensitive information is not revealed. Well, okay. And that's right on the tsa.gov website. You see that, guys? tsa.gov, can I take film and photos at a security checkpoint? See that, guys? Right from the government's mouth. Available for anyone to see after easy 5-second Google search. Google TSA filming. Can I film at TSA checkpoints? 5 seconds, it'll bring it right up. Government. Wish more people would learn the law instead of trying to enforce what they think is the law. What's your name and badge number there? Officer Smith, 588. Thank you. All right, how are you? You're good till we were interrupted. What's going on? How can I help you? You tell this guy to stay 6 ft away from us for social distancing purposes, not to bump into me cuz that's an assault. >> Yeah, I got it on body camera that I didn't even touch you. You got You You didn't bump into me? >> No, I didn't bump you. What What are you guys up to? What's going on? We're filming matters of public interest. Says right here on the TSA website. Go ahead and read it if you like. >> I know the rules, though. Okay, so you know I'm perfectly fine, right? When the official regulations are presented right in front of the officers, the atmosphere at the security checkpoint begins to change. But the confrontation isn't over yet because the security officers next reaction will send the situation in a different direction. Answer a lot of questions. We're just here to take some film [snorts] content on a story. That's all. Okay. Yeah, perfectly fine. I do it in airports all over the country. Never have a problem. Right. >> Okay, thank you. So, what do you need from us? Nothing. I need for this gentleman to get out of my shot so I can finish taking the my my video. What I need I need to stop being harassed. All right, you're aware you can't go past this point. I understand. Yeah, we never went past it. So, take him and and get on out if you would, sir. Thank you. He don't. All right, well you have a Just hang in have a good day. Thank you, sir. Bye-bye. Can I get your name and badge number? Here, I can give you a card. I like it. You're You're great You're a great man, sir. >> Thank you for being professional, unlike him. That's enough. Enough of your banter, okay? Well, I'm just telling you. All right, you didn't see what he did to this man. Okay, it's on body camera for you to review. It Yeah, it'll actually There'll be about 3,000 phone calls up here in the next couple days after I release the video. That's me. Email address. Okay. Everything. Thank you, sir. You're welcome. Have a good day, sir. Have a good one. There you go, people. Attention passengers, the TSA has limited the items you may take through the security checkpoint. Please check with your air carrier for more information. The dispute at the airport has come to an end, but the question of the right to record in public space is still remains. And sometimes, a single camera is enough to reveal a lot. Citizens may file a lawsuit [music] against police under Section 1983 when their rights are violated. Officers who break the law may be required to pay damages [music] and could face discipline or even termination. A good society is built not only on laws, but also on ethics, mutual respect, and the shared responsibility of everyone toward the community. Hey everyone, what do you think about this situation? If you enjoyed the video, don't forget to like, subscribe, and support us with a donation. Thank you so much. >> [music]