Actor and former MSNBC anchor Alec Baldwin accused the Transportation Security Administration of targeting his 5-month-old daughter for a pat down this week, but the agency is denying responsibility for the incident.
Baldwin, who recently hosted a short-lived show on MSNBC, tweeted that his daughter was selected for additional screening by TSA agents working a flight to the United States from the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas.
“Flying from Nassau, Bahamas 2 NY. TSA ‘random selects’ my 5 month old daughter 4 a pat down. I am not kidding. #travelinginUSisadisgrace,” he wrote.
The TSA responded to Baldwin’s tweet with a message of its own that the outspoken actor was wrong in stating the agency played a role in security at international airports.
“@TSA does not conduct screening operations in the Commonwealth of the #Bahamas,” TSA Press Secretary Ross Feinstein tweeted.
“@TSA does not conduct screening operations outside the United States; the Bahamas are not part of the U.S,” Feinstein added in a subsequent tweet.
The TSA has come under fire in the past for its pat down hand searches from critics like Baldwin, who argue that they are an invasion of airline passengers’ personal privacy.
The agency has defended its pat downs by arguing they are mostly used for passengers who are flagged by X-ray machines or refuse to go through.
Critics have also complained about the TSA’s X-ray machines, however, arguing they also invade passengers’ privacy and additionally expose them to unnecessary radiation.
-This story was updated with new information at 5:40 p.m.