A man has told US airport security officals that he would "get them arrested" if they touched his "junk" when conducting new security procedures.
John Tyner from California could face a fine of up to $10,000 after refusing to be 'patted-down' in the groin region.
He recorded his confrontation with security staff on his mobile phone which he later posted to his blog.
The head of the US Transportation Security Agency (TSA) acknowledged that new controversial airport scanning and pat-down procedures are "more invasive," but said they were necessary to prevent would-be attackers.
New full-body scanning machines installed at US airports create detailed images of passengers bodies that TSA agents check to see if passengers are attempting to carry any contraband.
Travellers can opt out of the scanning process and choose to be patted-down by security agents, but some have complained new procedures for the pat-downs are resulting in a very physical, and uncomfortable, interaction between security agents and passengers.
TSA Administrator John Pistole said at a Senate hearing that the new procedures are necessary for security.
"It is clearly more invasive. The purpose of that is to obviously detect those type of devices we had not seen before, for example, last Christmas. I am very sensitive to, and concerned about, people's privacy concerns and I want to work through that as best we can. The bottom line is: we need to provide for the best possible security," Pistole said.
Pistole said that there are no plans to change the current procedures.
