South Carolina man sentenced after stripping naked at Indy TSA checkpoint

INDIANAPOLIS — A South Carolina man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison after he stripped naked during a checkpoint search at the Indianapolis International Airport in 2023 — in clear view of families and children.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana. 38-year-old George Stevens pleaded guilty to interference with security screening personnel and assault of a federal officer.

Stevens was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, officials said.

On the afternoon of July 15, 2023, Stevens was passing through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at the airport. After going through the machine, Stevens was asked to step aside for a pat-down search by a TSA officer.

As the pat-down occurred, Stevens called the officer a “freak” multiple times, specifically when the officer patted down his outer and inner groin area. A supervisor was then called after Stevens, who officials said appeared intoxicated, was not complying with instructions.

When the supervisor instructed Stevens to remove his belt and hold his pants up, the release said that Stevens “dropped into a squat and shook his buttocks at the supervisor and other assisting TSOs.” This caused screening to be halted in multiple lines at the checkpoint.

After an officer with the Indianapolis Airport Police Department was dispatched, Stevens repeated the action, squatting and shaking his buttocks at the other TSOs. Stevens reportedly told officers “I don’t have nothing” and “What do you want to see?”

Stevens then pulled his jeans and underwear to his ankles, exposing his buttocks and genitals to the TSOs and the passengers in the vicinity. After the APD officer arrived, Stevens removed his jeans and placed them over the supervisor’s shoulder, removed his underwear and threw it at the supervisor.

While Stevens was completely naked, the release said he began to advance towards the supervisor. The documents said that Stevens was then placed under arrest.

“The entirety of Stevens’ lewd assault occurred in full view of the traveling public, including families with small children, who were attempting to navigate the security checkpoint and get to their flights,” the release read.

The release said that Stevens has had prior convictions for domestic violence and firearms offenses. The sentence that Stevens received in this case was “at the very top of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range.”

“Our Indianapolis International Airport is one of the finest airports in the country. TSA Officers stationed at the airport handle significant passenger traffic throughout the year with tremendous professionalism and a real dedication to the safety of the traveling public,” John E. Childress, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in the release. “Let this message be heard far and wide; the lewd and violent behavior towards security staff demonstrated by Mr. Stevens in this case will not be tolerated in this district, and it will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”