When Robert MacLean first blew the whistle on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) more than twenty years ago, he couldn’t have known he was stepping into a fight that would define his life.
A former Federal Air Marshal, MacLean exposed in 2003 that the TSA had quietly removed air marshals from long-distance flights to save money—a decision he believed endangered both passengers and the officers charged with protecting them. His disclosure, made anonymously, also warned that certain flight protocols made marshals easy targets for terrorists.
However, by 2005, after he raised additional concerns about how TSA-issued uniforms made agents easily identifiable, his anonymity was compromised. What followed was a years-long campaign of retaliation: termination, criminal investigations, and accusations about his mental health. “They wanted to make an example out of me,” MacLean recalls in this week’s episode of Whistleblower of the Week with host Jane Turner.
The ensuing litigation spanned over a decade, seesawing between reinstatement and dismissal. MacLean describes the process as a “convoluted gag-order” meant to silence dissent. Yet despite the toll, he refuses to back down. “Fighting for justice,” he says, “is the least I can do to honor those who fought for the First Amendment.”
Today, MacLean continues to advocate for accountability within the TSA and for the safety of those sworn to protect the public. His story is both a warning and a testament to the enduring cost of speaking truth to power.
Listen to the full episode of Whistleblower of the Week to hear Robert MacLean’s full account of his battle with the TSA and his ongoing fight for justice.