At least 200 airline passengers have been convicted of terrorism for incidences that have involved little more than raised voices, foul language and drunken behavior.
OKLAHOMA CITY Tamera Jo Freeman was on a Frontier Airlines flight to Denver in 2007 when her two children began to quarrel over the window shade and then spilled a Bloody Mary into her lap.
She swatted each of them on the thigh three times. It was a small incident, but one that in the heightened anxiety after the Sept. 11 attacks would have enormous ramifications for Freeman and her children.
A flight attendant confronted Freeman, who responded by hurling a few profanities and throwing a can of tomato juice on the floor.
The incident led to Freeman's arrest and conviction for a federal felony defined as an act of terrorism under the Patriot Act, the controversial federal law enacted after the 2001 attacks.
"I had no idea I was breaking the law," said Freeman, who spent three months in jail before pleading guilty.
Freeman, 40, is one of at least 200 airline passengers who have been convicted under the law. In most cases, there was no evidence that the passengers had attempted to hijack an airplane or physically attack a flight crew member. Many simply have involved raised voices, foul language and drunken behavior.
Some security experts say the use of the law by airlines and their employees has run amok.
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