Border Patrol Agent Draws Gun on Boy Scout—Over a Photograph

A group of Boy Scouts from Central
Iowa received a lesson they won’t forget in federal manners at a
border crossing from Canada into Alaska. According to the
scoutmaster, a casual snapshot of a Border Patrol agent got the
group of about two dozen scouts and volunteers detained,
searched—and one of them ultimately held at gunpoint.

According to Marcus McIntosh of
Iowa’s KCCI:

Boy Scout Troop 111 Leader Jim Fox spelled out what happened to
him and the Mid-Iowa Boy Scout Troop 111 as four van-loads of
Scouts and adult volunteers tried to drive from Canada into
Alaska.

Fox said one of the Scouts took a picture of a border official,
which spurred agents to detain everyone in that van and search them
and their belongings.

“The agent immediately confiscated his camera, informed him he
would be arrested, fined possibly $10,000 and 10 years in prison,”
Fox said.

Fox said he was told it is a federal offense to take a picture
of a federal agent.

Not wanting things to escalate, Fox said he did not
complain.

Another of the Scouts was taking luggage from the top of a van
to be searched when something startling happened.

“He hears a snap of a holster, turns around, and here’s this
agent, both hands on a loaded pistol, pointing at the young man’s
head,” Fox explained.

Charles Vonderheid with the Mid-Iowa Council of the Boy
Scouts of America is getting a lot of grief for referring to
the incident as a “lesson in civics.” But he told me that he made
the comment after getting blindsided by reporters before learning
any details about the encounter. He assured me, though, that he and
the Boy Scouts are concerned about scouts’ safety and support them.
He also said that Troop 111’s Jim Fox, who led the group that
endured the gauntlet at the border, is “a trusted scoutmaster who
cares about his boys.”

I’ve been unable to reach Fox, and I’ll update once I hear from
him and Customs and Border Protection.

For the record, federal rules
specifically permit photographing federal facilities, at least
for “news, advertising, or commercial purposes.” There don’t seem
to be any special limits on just-because snapshots.

Except where security regulations, rules, orders, or directives
apply or a Federal court order or rule prohibits it, persons
entering in or on Federal property may take photographs of—

(a) Space occupied by a tenant agency for non-commercial
purposes only with the permission of the occupying agency
concerned;

(b) Space occupied by a tenant agency for commercial
purposes only with written permission of an authorized official of
the occupying agency concerned; and

(c) Building entrances, lobbies, foyers, corridors, or
auditoriums for news purposes.

The American Civil Liberties Union offers
guidance, too, including the photography of federal agents:

Taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from
public spaces is a constitutional right – and that includes federal
buildings, transportation facilities, and police and other
government officials carrying out their duties.

But, adds the ACLU, “there is a widespread, continuing pattern
of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking
photographs from public places, and harassing, detaining and
arresting those who fail to comply.”

Relatively isolated border crossings in Alaska might be the sort
of place where you’d run into that pattern.

Below, more fun with the Border Patrol, from Reason TV.