VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) -- A Northern California mom has filed a complaint against a federal agency for holding her up at the San Francisco Airport as a security risk.
Christy Anthony of Vallejo was initially not allowed to fly from SFO to Hawaii for a family vacation June 14 because an airline employee told her she was on the Transportation Security Administration's no-fly list. The list was compiled by federal agencies in the wake of 9/11 with names of people considered security threats and barred from air travel.
''I'm not a terrorist. I'm a 43-year-old homemaker,'' Anthony said she told airline officials.
''It was pretty traumatic,'' she added.
After being grilled by security personnel, she was eventually allowed to board. Anthony said she was later told she shared a name with someone linked to an Irish terrorist group.
But she was so upset that she filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union last Wednesday.
The ACLU has filed a class-action lawsuit against the TSA, arguing that the no-fly list violates travelers' rights.
TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Peppin told the Vallejo Times-Herald that the list helps keep the skies safe and inconveniences few people.
''Out of the however-many million people flying each day, there's a relatively small number of people stopped,'' she said.
