Senator Rand Paul was detained by TSA after refusing to subject himself to a full-body pat-down, says the Associated Press. The news was first transmitted by his father, Ron Paul, who used his Twitter account to comment the event.

Rand Paul was heading to Washington to address the March for Life, when a body scanner determined TSA employees working in the Nashville airport to request his permission for a full body pat down. The Senator refused to observe the rules, so he was escorted by the local police.

Both Rand Paul and his father are against the admission of libertarians within the party. Moreover, they consider TSA searches to be highly intrusive and they require the elimination of the agency. As soon as Ron Paul heard the news, he informed his Twitter followers that his son was ‘detained’ by the TSA.

Reporters interviewed a TSA official who told the press that the Senator was not detained. According to the rules, any person who does not accept the full body pat-down cannot continue his road to the terminal. The police did not arrest Rand, but escorted him outside of the security point.

Lisa Farbstein who works as a spokeswoman at TSA confirmed the previously stated facts. She declared in an interview that passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area; therefore the rule could not be bent for Rand Paul.

The Senator managed to continue his flight after the incident. He rebooked a seat on another flight and this time the screening process did not register any unpleasant incidents. TSA did not provide any further information in relation to what object might have triggered the alarm.

His reps told reporters that Rand Paul was preparing to attend the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion. The event will be held on Sunday during a Pro-Life rally.