Of course, all of this reminds me of an event which was just long enough ago to have become quite fuzzy: the attetmpted arrest of air traffic controllers for doing their jobs...
Circa 1979--1981, Santa Monica, California. The city is trying to shut down the airport because the land is more valuable for mixed commercial use than it is as a runway. However, they are prohibited from doing so by the agreement they entered into with the federal government when the property was turned over to them after WWII.
The city decides to make the airport an unpleasant place for aviation. As part of this plan, they ban helicopters and jets and set the max noise level at 85dB (SENEL). Long story short (this went through years of litigation and there are many twists and turns), the FAA (which not only deals with the policy underlying this stuff, but also runs the tower at KSMO) disagrees with the city and tells the ATC staff that they MAY land and depart jets. Shortly thereafter, a controller clears a jet to land and the city sends the local police over to the tower to arrest the controller. ATC staff won't open the door, and proceed to call the FAA regional office. Federal law enforcement officials arrive and get between the local police and the tower. Much hilarity ensues. Nobody is arrested.
Like I said, this is foggy, and is second hand: when I arrived at KSMO as a controller in 1982 it was still widely spoken of. So, although it's not apocryphal, the details may not be right on.
Dave