Air Marshal Seeks Right to Speak Out

The president of a federal air marshal group filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s ban on public comments by marshals violates their 1st Amendment rights and may endanger the public.

In a case that could have implications for any U.S. agency that bars employees from speaking out about their jobs or employers, Frank Terreri asked the federal courts to declare portions of the Federal Air Marshal Service rules that muzzle employees unconstitutional because they explicitly prohibit workers from criticizing Homeland Security programs or co-workers.

The Riverside man’s lawsuit also asked that the agency be blocked from enforcing any provisions that effectively deny employees their right to speak out publicly.

“One of the fundamental lessons of the horrific events of 9/11 ... is that secrecy can be the enemy of accountability and good security,” said attorney Peter Eliasberg of the ACLU of Southern California, which filed the lawsuit with Loyola Law School professor Allan Ides and civil rights lawyer Paul Hoffman.

“Mr. Terreri does not want to reveal classified information,” Eliasberg said at a news conference. “He simply wants to alert the public about major problems that he sees in the way the Federal Air Marshal Service is run, problems that he believes severely threaten the security of our civil aviation systems and, as a result, all of us.”

Under the federal air marshal program, which was greatly expanded after the Sept. 11 attacks, armed undercover agents board U.S. commercial aircraft flying anywhere in the world with responsibility for protecting the planes from hijackers or terrorist attacks.

Ironically, Terreri’s lawyers say he has been singled out for criticizing agency officials for compromising air safety by revealing too much about the agency’s sensitive mission.

The service grounded Terreri in October, just days after he sent a colleague an e-mail criticizing a co-worker for providing too many details about the job of air marshals for an article in People magazine. He remains grounded while the service conducts an investigation.

Homeland Security officials Thursday declined to discuss the administrative case against Terreri or his lawsuit against the government.

But David Adams, spokesman for the service, insisted the investigation was not an attempt to silence him. Instead, he said, the probe was prompted by specific allegations of misconduct including the possibility Terreri had created a hostile work environment.

The lawsuit alleges that Homeland Security officials, including administrators, have repeatedly given other employees authority to publicly disclose the sensitive inner workings of the agency.

In November 2003, according to the lawsuit, a Fox News television station in Florida aired a three-part feature on the air marshals program that included a tour of training facilities, a chance to watch air marshals practice “take-down techniques” and a simulation of how they respond, communicate and regain control of an airliner in a hijacking.

Last year, at least four other detailed accounts of the sky marshals’ training and techniques were aired on national news broadcasts, the lawsuit said.

Meanwhile, employee guidelines say workers “shall not criticize or ridicule” the service, the Transportation Security Administration or the Department of Transportation policies or other employees.

“Clearly, this is an issue of transparency,” said Monica Gabriella, a Sept. 11 widow who supports Terreri’s lawsuit.

“And if you have people with the courage to stand up and say there are issues that need to be looked at, we’ve got to support them,” said Gabriella, who spoke by phone from New York City.

A former Border Patrol agent and New York prison guard who joined the air marshal service three years ago, Terreri, 38, is a president with the 23,000-member Federal Law Enforcement Officers Assn., which includes 1,400 air marshals.

Terreri’s supporters, including that association and the Federal Air Marshal Assn., also contend he is being targeted for criticizing by the air marshal service.

He was not at the news conference and remains unable to discuss his case because of the government’s policy, his attorneys said Thursday.