Reminder: Washington, D.C., is in the United States. While it should be obvious the nation's capital is in fact part of the country, occasional incidents with the TSA would prove otherwise.
Reporter Justin Gray was flying out of Orlando International Airport to head home to Washington, D.C., over the weekend when a TSA agent said his D.C. license was not a valid form of identification.
Gray tweeted that the agent then demanded to see his passport.
. @TSA Agent in Orlando never heard of "District of Columbia." Demanded passport because he didn't believe my drivers license was from US!?— Justin Gray (@grayjustin) July 12, 2014
Gray said he wasn't carrying it and asked why he needed it, according to WFTV. The agent said he did not recognize the D.C. license.
At that point, Gray realized the agent did not know what the District of Columbia was.
. @mco should be concerned @TSA agent on duty thinks "District of Columbia" is foreign country. It's a bizarre place but passport not needed— Justin Gray (@grayjustin) July 12, 2014
The issue has come up before with licenses from the district. In February, D.C. resident Ashley Brandt was headed home from Phoenix when an agent asked to see her passport after she had provided her driver's license.
Brandt's issue was also cleared up by a supervisor, at which point she was allowed through security, according to the Washington Post.
TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein tweeted at Gray to say the agency was addressing the problem.
@grayjustin @TSA And we are addressing this. What airline were you flying? Around what time @MCO?— Ross Feinstein (@TSAmedia_RossF) July 12, 2014
Every agent at the Orlando airport will reportedly be shown a D.C. license in response to the incident.
. @TSA says every Orlando agent being shown pic of DC license after agent didn't know what "District of Columbia" is & demanded my passport— Justin Gray (@grayjustin) July 14, 2014