Woman 'humiliated' when told to remove bra at federal courthouse

Spokesman Review ^ | 3 Oct. 2007 | Taryn Hecker

[Bean Counter]

A Bonners Ferry woman says she was humiliated when security guards at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene told her she'd have to remove her underwire bra to get inside.

Lori Plato said she was going into the courthouse for a court hearing Sept. 20 when the metal detector went off as she passed through security.

"When I walked through, the gentleman said, "'Do you have an underwire bra on?'." Plato said. "I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'You have to remove it.' "

But there was nowhere private to remove her bra, she said. The guards suggested she go out to her car to do it.

Instead, Plato — who describes herself as "not petite" — said she removed her bra while her husband tried to shield her from view of others in the crowded lobby by holding up his coat.

She said she had to put the bra on a conveyor belt and send it through an x-ray machine.

"After I got through the metal detector and waited for my bra to come through the conveyor belt, one of the security guards said, "'That's a girl,'" Plato said. She thought the guard was making fun of her.

The U.S. Marshal's Service, which supervises security at the courthouse, said Plato was given options and chose not to exercise them. She was told she could have gone to her car or to a neighboring business to remove the bra, U.S. Marshal Patrick McDonald said.

"She's inflating it," McDonald said.

[CindyDawg]

Well maybe they won’t tell you lay on the conveyor belt and tell your wife to pick you up on the other side:’) Seriously, it sounds like you had a bad injury. Hope you are doing ok.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

They could’ve had a female guard do a pat search if they absolutely had to, and be done with it.

And if there was NO female guard, a male guard could have felt around and under her bra. That would certainly have been OK/sarc.

[donnab]

Hopefully they will treat you with respect.
Hope all goes well for you.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

she should have stood her ground and complied with orders. If she took off her blouse, then took off her bra, and then took her sweet time putting her blouse back on, she may be the last to get asked to remove a bra. All the other women in the courthouse would go nuts and a law would be passed for bidding it. Remember men make laws and then women change them.

[dalereed]

“What happens if you have a plate in your head? I have 4 of them since june and lotsa screws...”

Remove it at the neck.

[MHGinTN]

Just a note: those ‘two fat ladies’ you have posted in your directory use to be my favorite Cooking Channel program. ... You might want to realize everything you link on a directory is available to any netizen.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

If I have to remove my belt (and I have had to), then she should have to remove her bra. I think it stinks, and is offensive, but don’t blame me or the security people: blame the f***ing moslems who decided to declare war on the rest of the world, and made this sh!t the new reality.

Why not blame Bush and Congress. The elite run the place. They can stop Muslims from coming. And, don't tell me we elected him. None, not one of the choices offer to us would have been any better.

[sarasmom]

Good mothers always teach their daughters usefull skills and freely share valuable tips and tricks...LOL!

[grjr21]

BTW, I once dated a girl that could hide two 750 ml bottles of whisky in her braw. One in each cup. I’m not kidding.

Oh No .This isn't another of those "Woman Breast Feeding in Public" threads is it  ;-/

[Syncro]

Saw a girl with a shirt with I B T T C on it and I asked her what it meant.

Cool committee

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Full of course!

I’m sure your time with that gal was quite .. um .. entertaining. ;o)

[org.whodat]

The security guard would surely have a device to check the properties of the undergarment.

Are you calling for the old five finger check?

[USS Alaska]

thankfully we don’t have underwire jock straps.

Since I'm a man of steel, I set off the detectors every time.

[mamelukesabre]

Of course. We rode everywhere on my harley. And we always had plenty of alcohol wherever we went. I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw her hide a bottle. The neck of the bottle stuck out a little under her armpit. But with her arms down you couldn’t tell. Depending on brand of bra, she was either a 36G or 36H. According to her, those sizes are special made and run over a hundred bucks each.

[Caramelgal]

I will go to bed tonight feeling so much safer and secure knowing that my Federal Government is keeping me safe from the threat of under wire bras.

If only my government would expend as much effort to secure our boarders as they do to secure our bras…

[Samwise]

They can have my bra when they pry it from my cold, dead....

[Last Dakotan]

...one of the security guards said, "'That's a girl,'" Plato said.

Merely a statement of facts.

[xjcsa]

all kidding aside, the antics of the tsa are notorious.

That may be, but this article does not involve TSA.

[ArmyTeach]

There’s a slight difference there. Unless your pants are way big, removing your belt won’t result in your pants around your ankles in front of the whole world. The lady had to disrobe in public and display her bra or lose her place in the security line. Stupidity. When traveling by air I wear no metal whatsoever in any item of clothing. No jewelery. Nothing, nada, not even my wedding ring.

[ArmyTeach]

More like, men should remove their jockstraps ... in public.