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Reporter Baffled After TSA Agent Rejects His District Of Columbia ID, Demands To See Passport

Dear TSA Agents: The Nation's Capital Is Indeed Part Of The United States
Ryan Grenoble
By 

Senior Reporter

It seems our nation's capital is giving TSA agents some difficulty.

A TSA agent at the Orlando International Airport demanded to see the passport of Justin Gray, a Washington, D.C., correspondent for central Florida's WFTV news. According to WFTV, the agent was not familiar with the District of Columbia, and therefore could not accept Gray's D.C. driver's license as a valid form of ID.

. @TSA Agent in Orlando never heard of "District of Columbia." Demanded passport because he didn't believe my drivers license was from US!?

— Justin Gray (@grayjustin) July 12, 2014

Fortunately, Gray was able to pass through security, ultimately notifying the supervisor on duty of the odd problem.

According to a later tweet from Gray, the TSA has responded by showing every Orlando agent a picture of a D.C. license.

Perhaps surprisingly, this wasn't an isolated incident. In February, a TSA agent in Phoenix delayed a D.C. resident because the traveler couldn't present a "state-issued" ID.

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At the time, a TSA representative told The Huffington Post that licenses from Washington, D.C., should pose no problem for its agents: "A valid Washington, D.C., driver's license is an acceptable form of identification at all TSA checkpoints. When issues arise at the checkpoint, TSA officers work to make sure facts are gathered and quickly resolved to avoid future confusion."

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