Lauren Witzke, who describes herself as a Christian Nationalist on X (formerly Twitter), shared a precarious tweet for a variety of reasons. @LaurenWitzkeDE writes: “Hey @united Please check your messages from me regarding the $8,000 12k Black Magic Camera your Somalian employees at the baggage claim STOLE from us, and then acted super shady when confronted about it. They also magically lost the video cam footage of our equipment on the baggage claim line. We have submitted all of the information, including bill of sale, and we have filed a police report and filed all appropriate paperwork to you and you CLOSED OUR CLAIM and offered us a $100 coupon. This is not satisfactory and I will keep hammering you until you remedy this issue. According to the Department of Transportation, you have a responsibility to cover the loss of camera equipment up to $4,800 per passenger (we had 2 travelers). @SecDuffy EVERYONE BE WARNED! If you travel with United, their employees are NOT properly vetted and will RAID your baggage and STEAL from you.”
Hey @united Please check your messages from me regarding the $8,000 12k Black Magic Camera your Somalian employees at the baggage claim STOLE from us, and then acted super shady when confronted about it. They also magically lost the video cam footage of our equipment on the…
— Lauren Witzke (@LaurenWitzkeDE) July 1, 2025
The first thing I thought of was who would call out people’s ethnicity if they’re not in that country (United doesn’t fly to Somalia) and the second thing I thought of was Teri Hatcher, who foolishly made the same mistake as Witzke. Every seasoned and not-so-seasoned traveler knows not to check anything of high value or something fragile in checked luggage.
You always carry it on in your carry-on, and the same goes for medications. I can’t find it online, but I remember a famous actress (I think Teri Hatcher) telling one of the morning shows how she had her expensive camera stolen while going on an African safari. The person looked like a fool when the hosts said, “You checked your camera in luggage?”
The third thing I thought of was the United Breaks Guitars video (embedded below), which was written by Canadian musician Dave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell. The song and video went viral (over 27 million views) and was a recount of how Carroll’s guitar was damaged during a 2008 flight with United Airlines and the airline’s frustratingly unhelpful response.
Let this be a lesson to everyone… Never ever check anything of value (especially cameras) or medications because bags do get lost (American Airlines lost ours this week) and items do get stolen.
