A TSA supervisor waved a former member of a domestic terrorist group through PreCheck last year even after an agent recognized her and warned the official.
Sara Jane Olson, who was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s did not apply for PreCheck, which allows travelers to avoid tighter screenings and to carry liquids onto flights, but was placed on the list through the risk assessment rules in the Secure Flight program, a press release from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General read.
The story was
reported last week, but Olson's name was redacted. Media reports, including the
Los Angeles Times, have since included her name.
A TSA agent at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport recognized Olsen when she was going through PreCheck on June 29, 2014. The officer notified a supervisor, but the supervisor ordered Olsen through the screening and into the terminal.
TSA’s chief risk officer Kenneth Fletcher told a congressional panel last week that Olsen's name did not appear on any watch lists.
"That is the glitch in the system," Fletcher said.
Olsen pleaded guilty in the early 2000s to two counts of possessing explosives with intent to murder and second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and was released in 2009.