Andrea Abbott
Still from security camera footage of incident at the airport on July 13, 2011.NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/NewsChannel 5) - A Clarksville mother accused of berating Transportation Security Administration officers trying to pat down her teenage daughter at the Nashville airport told jurors Monday that the accusations are false.
Andrea Abbott was charged with disorderly conduct in the July 2011 confrontation.
Transportation Security Officer Karen King testified Monday that before the pat-down, Abbott yelled in her face that she didn't want anyone "touching her daughter's crotch."
Abbott eventually allowed her then-14-year-old daughter to undergo the pat-down, but then she refused a pat-down for herself and was arrested.
Abbott acknowledged Monday that she did say a few curse words but said she wasn't in King's face and had a "normal conversation" about what she believed to be inappropriate about the pat-downs.
Attorney Brent Horst has said his client may have been loud, but she was only exercising her right to free speech.
Abbott testified at a hearing last year that she was confused by the screening process. She thought her daughter had been singled out for a pat-down, but officers wouldn't tell her why.
Prosecutors argue Abbott's disruptive behavior created a security threat.
The charge is a class C misdemeanor, but her attorney has said they are fighting on principle.
The case briefly drew national attention as hundreds offered Abbott support and donations amid debate over whether new, intrusive screening methods should be allowed at airports.
Closing arguments were set for Tuesday.
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(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
