Arrested at JFK Airport Security

Arrested at JFK Airport Security

You went through security at JFK—routine bag check, standard ID verification, nothing you haven’t done many, many times before—and then TSA called Port Authority Police. Now you’re home (or still in custody), your family, is asking what happened, and you’re trying to understand how your trip to visit relatives turned into a Queens County criminal case. Maybe TSA found your gun in your bag, maybe they discovered drugs during screening, maybe that ID verification revealed a warrant you forgot about from 2019. Regardless of what triggered it, you’re facing criminal charges right now—state charges through Queens DA, or federal charges, or both—and you need to understand what happens next.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We are a second-generation criminal defense law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years combined experience handling airport arrests at JFK. Unlike other law firms who treat airport arrests like standard criminal cases, we understand JFK’s specific jurisdiction issues: Port Authority Police vs. NYPD, Queens DA vs. federal prosecutors in EDNY, state charges vs. federal civil penalties. Here’s the 24-hour timeline you’re facing, your choices at each decision point, and what you should do RIGHT NOW before your arraignment.

What Actually Just Happened: TSA Detection to Port Authority Police Arrest

You thought TSA arrested you. They didn’t. TSA can’t arrest anyone—they’re Transportation Security Officers, not law enforcement. This is key to why your rights didn’t attach when you thought they should of.

Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) has jurisdiction at JFK security checkpoints. TSA finds prohibited items—weapons, drugs, anything flagged during screening—and they call PAPD immediately. PAPD officers are stationed on-site, which means response time is typically under one hour. TSA detains you in a secure area until PAPD arrives, and then PAPD conducts the actual arrest.

Here’s what most people don’t realize—there’s three different law enforcement systems operating at JFK, and which one handles your case determines everything about how your case gets resolved. If PAPD arrested you for a weapon at checkpoint, you’re facing Queens County Criminal Court (JFK is in Queens) with Queens DA prosecuting state charges. Bail requests from Queens DA for gun cases: $10,000 to $25,000, even for first-time offenders with no criminal record who have their gun registered in their home state. If federal agents arrested you—DEA, FBI, Homeland Security—you’re facing Eastern District of New York (EDNY) federal prosecution for drug smuggling, terrorism-related charges, immigration violations. Completely different court system, different bail rules, different prosecutors.

The timeline moved fast, faster than you realized. TSA found the gun—called PAPD—officers arrived within an hour—you were handcuffed. By the time you understood what was happening, you were already being processed. This compression of time, it destroys most people’s ability to make good decisions because they’re still trying to figure out what’s happening while Port Authority Police are already building their case.

The Next 24 Hours: Your Timeline to Arraignment

RIGHT NOW your case is moving through the system whether you have a lawyer or not. Many, many hours of your life disappeared the moment TSA called Port Authority Police, and here’s the mechanical reality of what happens next—not what you think should happen, what ACTUALLY happens:

Hour 0-1: TSA Detention to PAPD Arrival
TSA detains you in secure area. You’re not under arrest yet, but you can’t leave. You’re probably trying to explain yourself—”the gun is registered in Pennsylvania,” “I forgot it was in my bag,” “I didn’t know New York had different laws.” TSA is documenting everything you say in their incident report. Then PAPD arrives, you’re formally arrested, handcuffed, and moved to airport holding facility.

Hours 1-6: Airport Holding Facility Processing
Fingerprints, photographs, background check, rights advisement—this takes several hours. Port Authority Police file their arrest report documenting the prohibited item, your statements to TSA (which you made before you were arrested and before Miranda warnings), witness statements from TSA officers. You’re sitting in a holding area at JFK wondering when you can leave. You can’t leave. You’re in custody until arraignment.

Hours 6-24: Overnight Custody to Arraignment
New York requires arraignment “without unreasonable delay”—interpreted as within 24 hours of arrest. You’re transported to Queens County Criminal Court. You appear before a judge. Queens DA is there, prepared, with a bail recommendation already decided before you walked into that courtroom. For gun cases at JFK, bail requests are $10,000-$25,000 minimum. If you can’t post bail, you go back into custody. If you post bail, you’re released but you’re coming back for trial. Either way, you have a criminal case in Queens County that’s moving forward regardless of whether you’re ready.

This is not a situation where you can “figure it out later.” Your arraignment is coming in hours, not days. Many, many defendants think they’ll have time to research attorneys, talk to family, make an informed decision. You don’t have that time. The decision to get an attorney needs to happen NOW—during processing, before arraignment, not after.

Your Rights During TSA Detention vs. After PAPD Arrest

Here’s the critical constitutional rights gap no one explains, and it’s where most defendants destroy their cases without realizing what they’re doing:

TSA detention is NOT an arrest. You don’t have Miranda rights during TSA questioning because TSA officers aren’t law enforcement—they’re security screeners. Anything you say to TSA gets documented in their incident report, but you haven’t received Miranda warnings yet because you’re not technically under arrest. This creates a gap between TSA detention and PAPD arrival where defendants make incriminating statements thinking they’re “explaining the misunderstanding.”

When Port Authority Police arrive and formally arrest you, THEN Miranda rights attach. But by then you’ve already spent 30 minutes to an hour talking to TSA officers, trying to explain why you had the gun, how you forgot it was in your bag, how it’s registered in your home state so you thought it was legal. TSA documented all of that. It’s in their incident report. Port Authority Police have it. Queens DA will use it against you at trial. You gave them evidence before you even realized you were in legal jeopardy.

The phrase “I’d like to speak with an attorney before answering questions” works with TSA just as well as it works with police. You don’t need to wait for PAPD to invoke this right. The moment TSA detains you in that secure area—before they call police, before you’re arrested, before Miranda warnings—you can assert your right to remain silent. Should you? Yes. Absolutely. Irrespective of how innocent your explanation feels to you, irrespective what you think TSA needs to understand, stay silent and request an attorney immediately.

Most criminal defense attorneys tell you “invoke your rights when arrested.” We know better. The critical window is BEFORE arrest—during TSA detention. That’s when defendants talk themselves into felony convictions trying to explain their way out of trouble.

Why Your “Registered in My Home State” Defense Fails—And What Actually Works

You thought registration meant legal everywhere. It doesn’t. The moment you crossed into New York with that firearm, you committed a felony under New York Penal Law §§ 265.02 (Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree) or 265.03 (3rd Degree). Your Pennsylvania registration, your Texas license to carry, your Florida concealed carry permit—100% irrelevant to the elements of the crime under New York law.

Port Authority Police aren’t interested in your explanation about the gun being registered in Pennsylvania. Queens DA isn’t either. They’ve prosecuted this exact case many, many times: Philadelphia man arrested at JFK checkpoint in October 2023—gun legally registered in Pennsylvania, loaded and in carry-on bag—arrested by PAPD, prosecuted by Queens DA. Alexandria, Virginia resident—same situation. Texas man in June 2024—legally owned gun, arrested at JFK, felony charges. Pennsylvania man in August 2024. The pattern is identical: legal gun owner in home state → TSA checkpoint at JFK → PAPD arrest → Queens DA prosecution → $10,000-$25,000 bail → felony charges regardless of home state registration status.

“Registered in my home state” is not a legal defense to New York possession charges. It’s not a mitigating factor. It’s not even relevant. Defense failure rate: 100%. Every single defendant who relies on this defense gets convicted or pleads guilty because the law doesn’t recognize it as a defense.

What actually works? Challenging the legality of the search if TSA exceeded their screening authority. Proving lack of knowledge—you genuinely forgot the gun was in your bag and can demonstrate why (recent range trip, you normally fly without bags, you grabbed wrong luggage). Procedural violations by TSA or PAPD during detention or arrest. Demonstrating complete lack of criminal intent—you weren’t trying to bring a gun into New York, you made an honest mistake. These defenses require investigation of all facts, and create a path to case dismissal or significantly diminished charges that don’t result in felony conviction.

But you need an attorney who understands airport cases—someone who’s pragmatic, and understands the dire situation you’re in—someone who can consider and plan multiple different scenarios, and assess the risk at every stage. Unlike other criminal defense lawyers who don’t understand JFK jurisdiction complexities (Port Authority Police response protocols, Queens DA bail patterns, federal civil penalty procedures), we’ve handled hundreds of airport arrests. We know what Queens DA offers in plea deals for first-time offenders. We know which defenses work in Queens County Criminal Court and which ones are a knocking’ on doors that won’t open.

What You Need to Do RIGHT NOW

Your arraignment is coming whether you’re ready or not. The amount of time between your arrest and standing before that judge—24 hours, maybe less. Queens DA already decided their bail recommendation. Port Authority Police already filed their report. TSA already documented your statements. The prosecution process started the moment they handcuffed you. You don’t have days to figure this out. You don’t even have hours in most cases.

Contact us immediately. We’re available 24/7, which means right now, even if it’s 2am and you just got released on bail. Your arraignment doesn’t wait for business hours—neither do we. We can evaluate your case, identify which jurisdiction is prosecuting (Queens DA vs. federal), determine what defenses apply to your specific situation, and prepare for arraignment or bail hearing before you walk into that courtroom. Regardless of how complicated your case is, regardless what TSA found, we can help you get the outcome you need.

This is not a “figure it out later” situation. Many of the cases we’re famous for handling—are cases that others say were unwinnable. Airport arrests at JFK, they move fast. TSA detention to PAPD arrest to Queens County arraignment—all within one day of going through security. Every minute you wait, you’re giving prosecutors more time to build their case while you’re trying to understand what charges even mean. Get representation now, before your arraignment, before Queens DA sets bail you can’t afford, before you make more statements that destroy potential defenses.

We are one of the few law firms in the country have extensive experience with JFK airport arrests specifically—TSA gun cases, drug possession at checkpoints, warrant arrests during ID verification, federal smuggling charges. We know Port Authority Police procedures. We know Queens DA prosecutors. We know federal prosecutors in Eastern District of New York. We’ve seen this exact situation many, many times, and we know how these cases actually get resolved—not how they theoretically should get resolved, how they ACTUALLY do.

Call us. Right now. Your freedom is on the line, and the clock is ticking.