Michael Alan Crooker, 64, of Southwick, is suing TSA, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to get taken off the 'Terror No Fly List.'
SPRINGFIELD -- A hearing is set in U.S. District Court today for a Southwick man suing three federal government agencies over his firing from a job as an airport shuttle driver because of his placement on the "Terror No Fly List."
Michael Alan Crooker has filed three lawsuits in connection with his firing as a curbside shuttle driver for LAZ Fly in September.
Crooker, 64, was charged in connection with weapons of mass destruction-related offenses in 2007. He later pleaded guilty to lesser charges including threatening a federal prosecutor and possession of a toxin, ricin, without registration.
He was released from prison in 2017 and went job hunting. Over the summer, he landed a job as a shuttle driver with the private company to bring travelers from satellite lots outside Bradley International Airport in Connecticut to the curbsides outside various airlines.
Crooker has argued in voluminous court filings that a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official green-lighted his employment when a U.S. Probation officer inquired about its appropriateness. But, he says, an administrator with the Connecticut Airport Authority later banned him from the property altogether, alerting all employees of the airport to Crooker's spot on the "Terror No Fly List" maintained by the FBI.
Crooker argues this is a violation of his constitutional rights and has asked a federal judge to order an immediate erasure of his name from the list to restore his job. To complicate matters, no one will confirm whether Crooker is even on the list, which is supposed to be classified.
He is suing TSA, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
Thursday's hearing will take place before U.S. District Judge William G. Young, who typically sits in Boston.
The hearing was initially set for last week until assistant U.S. attorneys asked for more time to respond to Crooker's motion, arguing they were understaffed and hobbled by the government shutdown.
The request drew a stringing response from Young in the public court record.
"The hearing will be continued to Thursday, February 1, 2018. There will be no further continuances. This motion ought embarrass the Office of United States Attorney," Young wrote.
He continued: "Consider: A citizen commences an action against federal officials seeking immediate equitable relief. Citing staffing shortages, the Office says it cannot respond. More embarrassing, the office seeks to take refuge in the government shutdown. Even in Puerto Rico which is in a form of bankruptcy, equitable actions proceed timely against Commonwealth officials."
The Republican will be in the courtroom and provide updates on the proceedings.
