A man near the White House was arrested Saturday night after pointing a laser at President Trump’s helicopter, Marine One, as it flew overhead, reports the Associated Press. Shining a laser at any aircraft is a bad idea not to mention illegal, but aiming it at one with the President on board takes it to the next level, no matter how much one may not like him.
A Secret Service officer was helping to secure the intersection of 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW in anticipation of Trump’s departure, according to his affidavit. He observed a man, later identified as Jacob Samuel Winkler, shirtless and loudly talking to himself. The officer shone his flashlight at Winkler, who shone a red laser pointer back in the officer’s face, temporarily disorienting him. At that point, Marine One flew directly overhead, and the officer saw Winkler point the laser at the helicopter. At that point, the officer detained him and took away the laser pointer.
Winkler repeatedly said he should apologize to Donald Trump many times. He also claimed he didn’t know he couldn’t point the laser at Marine One and said he pointed it at many things, such as stop signs. Well, stop signs can’t fall out of the sky when you point a laser at them.
Lasers and aircraft don’t mix
Laser pointers should come with a warning label that says, “Do not aim laser at remaining eye.” Disorientation on the ground after being hit in the eye with a laser pointer is bad enough; unfortunately, we don’t have to imagine what it can do to a pilot in flight, with over 13,000 laser pointer strikes on aircraft in 2023 and almost that many in 2024. While you might not think it, tracing lasers back to their source to catch the perpetrators is actually easy.
Based on his numerous apologies, Winkler does not appear to have malicious intent toward Trump and is not being charged with an attempt on his life or safety. However, pointing a laser at an aircraft is a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $32,646 per violation and/or up to five years in prison. It can be fun to point lasers at signs or license plates to make them light up like a Christmas tree, and in China they’ve used lasers to make light shows to keep drivers awake. Of course, their most important use is to entertain your cat for hours at a time. However, it pays to be careful where you point your lasers, certainly not up.
