Christian nationalist Andrew Isker from Tennessee avoids walking through an airport security scanner at all costs because he claims it makes people gay.
So what's the alternative method he prefers for security clearance? A full body pat down by male TSA agents, of course.
On a recent episode of the Contra Mundum podcast, Isker, who is also a preacher, asked co-host C. Jay Engel, "Where was the Constitution when the Patriot Act was passed?”
The USA Patriot Act referred to the government's expanded surveillance powers that was instituted after 9/11 to enhance national security and counter-terrorism efforts.
Its contrived acronym formally stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
Isker continued, grousing:
“Right, give me a break."
“Like, I had to be molested at the airport to go to Florida, right, just to get on an airplane, just because I’m not going to go through the ‘gay beam’ machine.”
Isker set himself up with his comments, and the internet was happy to oblige in mocking him.
Investigative reporter Phil Williams from Nashville's News Channel 5 shared a clip and commented:
"[Isker] is apparently afraid that TSA scanners will make him become attracted to men - so he chooses a personal pat-down instead."
Isker expressed being protective of his co-host and travel buddy, stating:
“I didn’t let C. Jay do it, I wouldn’t let him do it. I said, ‘You’re getting patted down, too, buddy. I don’t want them turning you gay.'”
“It appears having a guy touch you all over the place, on its face, seems worse,” Isker admitted.
Isker went on to comment, “But, you don’t really know what those things are doing to you."
Engel remained skeptical about the security scanners and wondered where "all the imaging goes" or what TSA agents are doing in the "back room" with the image results.
"They can just take a picture of me naked? Like, no," Isker added.
Isker's statement about the scanning technology is false.
The machines use millimeter wave scanners and X-ray scanners to see through clothing, but they do not generate images of travelers in a naked state.
Instead, Automatic Threat Recognition and Detection functionality is used to detect abnormal shapes on a person’s body.
The TSA states they do not store the images of passengers. They are only viewed by different security personnel in a separate room.
But you do you, Andrew. Just try not to enjoy those frisky TSA agents and their wandering hands too much, m'kay?
In 2024, the evangelical podcasters stated they want to build a community with like-minded members, basically white, with the same Christian ideals, in Jackson County, Tennessee, located about 90 minutes northeast of Nashville.
They aimed to take their little haven back to the advent of the civil rights movement.
"The question is, is there room for like-minded Christians and patriots in Tennessee? Yes, there's an imperative for like-minded Christians to gather and fight with us," Engel said in an October episode of the Contra Mundum podcast. "We need Christian nationalism in one state."
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