January 10, 2011
Charges have been dropped against 21-year-old Aaron Tobey. The Charlottesville native appeared in Henrico County General District Court Monday morning.
Before flying out of Richmond's airport Thursday, Dec. 30, Tobey was arrested for disorderly conduct after stripping down to his underwear as part of a peaceful protest at Richmond International Airport. His complaint was that the all-seeing body scanners take away his Fourth Amendment rights.
"It's not about me or my actions but more about the issues at hand. Searches at airports are just the beginning, and if we let one thing slip, it's possible other things could," Tobey told CBS19 a few days later.
Dubbed the 'Airport Stripper', Tobey had his protest planned out before leaving for the airport. Instead of letting the machines see through his clothes, he does the work for them and strips, revealing a reference to unlawful search and seizure written across his bare chest.
"We need to have a dialogue concerning our civil liberties and where we are allowed to express ourselves, where we are allowed to feel safe and secure in our person," Tobey said.
He eventually made his way to Wisconsin for the new year.
Tobey is a graduate of Western Albemarle High School and an architecture student at the University of Cincinnati.
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