The Transportation Security Administration has recently been broadening their standing outside of the airports. The T.S.A. has been expanding its grasp of security exponentially, from sporting events to music festivals. What does this mean for security at our beloved festivals such as Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo and many others? Based on past examples, you can expect to find the TSA at the exit and entrances of festivals with unannounced checkpoints, with plain-clothed officials as well as bomb sniffing dogs. You may even be subject to random searches. It doesn’t look probable that they will be inside the festivals themselves but, it’s still unclear. Also the T.S.A has reported that employee misconduct has risen more than 20%. It is certainly understandable why the T.S.A. would want to extend their reach in every attempt to stop terrorism, but are they over stepping their boundaries? That is for you to decide, let us know what you think!

T.S.A. officials state that the random searches are “special needs” or “administrative searches” that are exempt from probable cause because they further the government’s need to prevent terrorist attacks.

For those of you who are too lazy to click on the source links, taken from the NY Times:

With little fanfare, the agency best known for airport screenings has vastly expanded its reach to sporting events, music festivals, rodeos, highway weigh stations and train terminals. Not everyone is happy.

Source: NY Times, LA Times

Click here to watch a video summarizing the issue: VIDEO