Ventura, Miffed Over Lawsuit, Says He's Off To Mexico
ST. PAUL (WCCO/AP) -- Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is so upset by the dismissal of his airport security lawsuit that he threatened Friday to apply for dual citizenship so he can spend more time in his beloved Mexico — or run for president of what he labeled "the Fascist States of America."
On Thursday, a U.S. District Judge dismissed Ventura's lawsuit against full-body scanners at airports, ruling it should have been filed in a Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Friday outside the federal courthouse in St. Paul, with a crew from his "Conspiracy Theory" cable TV show filming, Ventura said he hadn't decided whether to continue pressing his lawsuit.
But the former Navy SEAL said he had lost his patriotism.
"I will never stand for a national anthem again. I will turn my back and I will raise a fist," he said.
Ventura filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration back in January. The lawsuit also mentioned the pat-down procedures.
Ventura argued the scans and pat downs violated his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
He claimed his titanium hip was setting off the metal detectors, and in the past, TSA agents would use hand-held wands to scan him. However, he said last November he was subjected to a pat down.
On Friday, Ventura said he never plans on flying commercially again.
Ventura, a political independent who served one term as governor, teased that he might have to run for president to change the policy and a court system he regards as broken. Moments later, he vowed to apply for Mexican citizenship so he can live there more months of the year.
"The only way I can change it is to run for president and win it," he said. "Is that what it will take?"
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