Tamera Jo Freeman, 40, is a normal looking, suburban mom. The only thing that is different about her than most other suburban mothers, is that she spent three months in jail and had her children temporarily taken away because of her arrest and conviction for an act defined as terrorism under the Patriot Act.
So what exactly did she do?? She spanked her children after they began to fight with each other and spilled a drink all over her. Three swats each on the thigh. From a mom… a simple symbolic gesture…. Behave.
A flight attendant confronted Freeman, who responded by hurling a few profanities and throwing what remained of a can of tomato juice on the floor.
The incident aboard the Frontier flight ultimately 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 in New York and Washington.
While it may not have been the best reaction, I can see why a parent would get mad at someone else trying to tell them how to handle their kids… After all, I know my children better than anyone, and what it takes for them to listen.
But after 9/11, Some security experts say the use of the law by airlines and their employees has run amok, criminalizing incidents that did not start out as a threat to public safety, much less an act of terrorism. At least 200 people on flights have been convicted under the amended law, some simply involved raised voices, foul language and drunken behavior.
“In one case, a couple was arrested after an argument with a flight attendant, who claimed the couple was engaged in “overt sexual activity” — an FBI affidavit said the two were “embracing, kissing and acting in a manner that made other passengers uncomfortable.”
Does that qualify as terrorism?
“We have gone completely berserk on this issue,” said Charles Slepian, a New York security consultant. “These are not threats to national security or threats to aircraft.”
“A woman spanking her child is not as great a threat to aviation as members of Al Qaeda with box cutters. That much is clear,” he said.
Since Congress passed the Patriot Act, which is a sweeping attempt to improve the nation’s defenses against international terrorism, it included broad new powers for law enforcement in such areas as electronic surveillance, money laundering and search warrants.
Included were two key provisions on airline security. The first defined disruptive behavior as a terrorist act, reflecting the seismic shift in airline security.
The second broadened the existing criminal law so that any attempt or conspiracy to interfere with a flight crew became a felony — a change that allowed flight personnel to act against suspicious passengers even if they hadn’t begun an actual assault.
The law gave flight personnel enormous latitude in determining what precisely posed a potential threat or disruption, and judging by some cases, there is no clear standard.
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January 26th, 2009 at 9:42 am
“So what exactly did she do?? She spanked her children after they began to fight with each other and spilled a drink all over her. Three swats each on the thigh. From a mom… a simple symbolic gesture…. Behave.”
Seriously? You might want to do some VERY basic research next time before you get caught whitewashing the actions of a serial child abuser, Mr. Fernandez. From the affadavit:
-Amy Grant observed Freeman hitting her children repeatedly and yelling profanities at her children and at the flight attendants. She observed Freeman swing with an opened hand down at the children and heard the children crying after being struck;
-Carolyn DeRyder observed Freeman slapping her daughter on the legs 4 to 5 times, as well as yelling profanities at the children and the flight attendants. Deryder also observed Freeman drinking alcohol and throwing a drink on the floor at the flight attendants’s feet;
-In the San Francisco airport prior to the departure of the flight, Katie Shanahan observed Freeman drop her son on his back and head on the ground when he did not want to go to the bathroom with her. Freeman left her son on the ground crying for several minutes;
-Dianne Delverstoni was the passenger who first approached the flight attendants regarding Freeman’s assaultive behavior toward the children. She observed Freeman hitting her son several times “over and over”, using profanity to the flight attendant, and throwing a drink;
-Maria Aldeguer observed Freeman drinking alcohol on the flight, cursing and screaming at her children, and hitting the children with open fists on their shoulders and knees;
-Carrie Storm, who was sitting in front of Freeman on the flight, heard Freeman hitting her children “the entire flight”, to the point where the children were trying to hide in a corner and on the floor;
-David Shipman stated that he observed Freeman hit her children with a closed fist during the flight
“Simple symbolic gesture”. Uh huh…
See here for even more info on why the Tamera Jo Freeman story is bunk: http://www.popehat.com/2009/01/22/2793/.
January 26th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
The portrayal of Ms. Freeman as a normal mom who gave the children three swats each is grossly different from the reports from witnesses directly after this incident. By her own admission Ms. Freeman had had several drinks during the flight (witnesses also reported seeing her drinking in the airport prior to the flight). She hit her children repeatedly on the legs, shoulders and thighs so much that they were cowering on the floor under the seats to get away from her. Further, when the flight attendant intervened, Ms. Freeman demanded a new drink (having spilled the one she was working on) and the flight attendant told her she was cut off. That’s when Ms. Freeman threw her glass at the flight attendant. After this exhange Ms. Freeman got out of her seat and chased down the flight attendant and cornered her in a different area of the airplane. Her behaviour was so out of line that a corrections officer was asked to sit next to her to keep her in her seat for the remainder of the flight and she was threatened with duct tape. There’s certainly more to this story than was presented in this article.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Wow, Michael Fernandez, what are you so afraid of that you can’t stand someone doing some actual research on this? After reading my comment, instead of correcting yourself you just delete the comment? What a coward you are Mr. Fernandez. As I wrote last time, from the Affadavit:
-Amy Grant observed Freeman hitting her children repeatedly and yelling profanities at her children and at the flight attendants. She observed Freeman swing with an opened hand down at the children and heard the children crying after being struck;
-Carolyn DeRyder observed Freeman slapping her daughter on the legs 4 to 5 times, as well as yelling profanities at the children and the flight attendants. Deryder also observed Freeman drinking alcohol and throwing a drink on the floor at the flight attendants’s feet;
-In the San Francisco airport prior to the departure of the flight, Katie Shanahan observed Freeman drop her son on his back and head on the ground when he did not want to go to the bathroom with her. Freeman left her son on the ground crying for several minutes;
-Dianne Delverstoni was the passenger who first approached the flight attendants regarding Freeman’s assaultive behavior toward the children. She observed Freeman hitting her son several times “over and over”, using profanity to the flight attendant, and throwing a drink;
-Maria Aldeguer observed Freeman drinking alcohol on the flight, cursing and screaming at her children, and hitting the children with open fists on their shoulders and knees;
-Carrie Storm, who was sitting in front of Freeman on the flight, heard Freeman hitting her children “the entire flight”, to the point where the children were trying to hide in a corner and on the floor;
-David Shipman stated that he observed Freeman hit her children with a closed fist during the flight
See here for even more info: http://www.popehat.com/2009/01/22/2793/.
And here is what you said:
“So what exactly did she do?? She spanked her children after they began to fight with each other and spilled a drink all over her. Three swats each on the thigh. From a mom… a simple symbolic gesture…. Behave.”
That’s sick Mr. Fernandez. So, not only are you defending a child abuser, but you continue to do so even after the testimony of multiple witnesses is pointed out to you (which you promptly delete). You should be ashamed.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
But do we know what the KIDS did???? Maybe they deserved it???
January 29th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Exactly Dirkhead. I’ve never seen an attitude that wasn’t improved from a mild beating.
January 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Dear Mr. Alex
As you can see I did not delete your comment. Today is actually my first day back. I am here to provoke dialog, not censor it. I can see you did your research, and for that I can take nothing away from you. BUT…… the question remains. Was it an act of terrorism?
I’m not questioning whether or not child abuse is involved. I’m questioning whether or not this is a terrorist act. I may have taken the LATimes article too literal, but the fact remains, was it an act of terrorism??
No it was not.
January 29th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
There are already child abuse laws on the books. Is it really in the spirit of the law to prosecute a horrible mother under a law intended to stop terrorism?? Hang her from the highest tree for beating her kids but don’t take resources intended to fight terrorism and waste them on some alcholic dirtbad mother.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Hello. It is nobler to declare oneself wrong than to insist on being right - especially when one is right.
I am from Guinea and learning to speak English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: “On go airline from honolulu to maui.”
Thanks for the help :p, Sheena.