Idiotic Plot Hole

1. There were no civilians around when they took him. The area was empty and they waited until he was surrounded in the open. He was not a violent criminal so they had no reason to suspect he'd be armed so I don't see anything wrong with how they arrested him.
2. They might have taken him to Seattle first then transported him to NORAD. We don't know how much time passed. I agree this part is a bit d a stretch but it's possible they might have wanted to have him questioned by the people who's systems he broke into instead of having McKitrick come to Seattle.
3. If he was being held for espionage, even as a minor, they could have detained and interviewed him without his parent's being present. Also, McKitrick says his parents are aware of his arrest. Given the severity of the situation, his parents could have consented to letting him be held and interviewed by the FBI. His parents were probably terrified and the FBI has been known to do someone questionable acts. They could have scared his parents with threats of charging him with more crimes if they didn't consent. I don't see a problem with this.

These aren't really plot holes. They are minor inaccuracies but I don't think any of them couldn't have actually happened.

How did they even know to wait for him at the 7-11?

1. He was being questioned about computer hacking, not murder. They picked a place that actually had few people around that could give him aid where they could tell he wasn't armed.

My bet is they didn't want pick him up at home or school so they could have him in custody before his parents found out. It's a lot easier to convince them not to call an attorney when he's already been hauled miles away instead of being taken in front of them.

Plus, if they took him at home, he might see them coming and have the chance to destroy evidence.

Finally, don't forget, they thought he had a partner. They may have been trailing him first to see if he was meeting up with someone.

2. He likely was, but at first, they just wanted to know how he did it. When he asked for a lawyer, then was seen at the terminal in the office, that's when it became unfriendly.

3. In a police situation, that's true, but the government has more leeway with that stuff. Plus, those laws weren't on the books back then. Further, they had already called his parents and pacified them so they wouldn't retain council. Finally, back then, people trusted the government more. It was us against the Russians.

Remember, the original goal was to get information. His parents didn't understand computers, so likely wouldn't understand just how serious what he did was.

The government officials had to view David as a serious security threat to the nation. I've always had a hard time believing that these same people would be willing to transport him directly to NORAD, thus risking further damage to national security by having him with such close access to the mainframe computer. The fact that McKittrick left him alone in a room with direct mainframe access was even more absurd.

If they wanted someone from NORAD to interview him in police custody, I would think that having that person fly out to Seattle would be a much more intelligent move than bringing the suspect to NORAD.

You really want ridiculous? Jennifer's full name was on the reservation to Paris. It's on David's computer screen. The FBI knew of the ticket but implied it was in David's name and didn't know the other person. She would've been arrested.