WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of shining a laser pointer at Marine One with President Donald Trump aboard the helicopter has been arrested on a federal criminal charge, according to a court filing on Monday.
Jacob Samuel Winkler, 33, of Washington, D.C., is charged with aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft, a felony punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Online court records don’t list an attorney representing him.
Marine One was airborne on Saturday near the White House when a U.S. Secret Service patrol officer spotted Winkler walking on a sidewalk, shirtless and loudly talking to himself, the officer wrote in an affidavit.
The officer said he shone a flashlight at Winkler, who apparently retaliated by flashing a red laser beam at the officer’s face.
As Marine One flew over their heads, Winkler looked up and shined the laser pointer at the helicopter, according to the officer. After the officer handcuffed him, Winkler repeatedly talked about apologizing to Trump, the affidavit says.
The court filing doesn’t say if anybody aboard the helicopter noticed the laser.
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But the officer said Winkler’s conduct could have temporarily blinded or disoriented a pilot, placing Marine One at risk of an airborne collision with other helicopters in the area.
“This behavior endangers Marine One and everyone on board,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “If you engage in this act, you will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Winkler told investigators that he points the laser “at all kinds of things, such as stop signs,” and didn’t know he couldn’t point it at Marine One, the affidavit says. Investigators also found a small knife in his possession, according to the officer.