Man charged with shining laser pointer at Trump helicopter
World
By
AFP
| Sep 23, 2025
US authorities charged a man who shone a laser pointer at the presidential helicopter as it departed the White House with President Trump aboard, according to a court filing Monday.
A Secret Service officer saw Jacob Samuel Winkler, 33, shine a red laser beam from the sidewalk outside the White House grounds, pointing it at the Marine One helicopter as it took off on Saturday, an affidavit said.
Winkler was detained at the scene and charged with aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft -- a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Winkler's "conduct posed a risk of flash blindness and pilot disorientation, especially during low-level flight near other helicopters... and the Washington Monument," the filing said.
"This placed Marine One at risk of an airborne collision."
READ MORE
State bans Saccos from borrowing to pay dividends
All eyes on Gulf Energy as Tullow seals Kenya assets sale deal
Kenyan health firm bets on Africa's future with smart city push
Kenyans tap US stocks through tokenised crypto platforms
Ketraco yet to pay landowners Sh4 billion in wayleave compensation
New fintech partnership to cut costs, simplify payments for Kenyan SMEs
State tightens grip on saccos as sector's asset base hits Sh1 trillion
Abyssinia invests in Sh323 million solar energy
KRA moves to ease tax compliance for small businesses
Why scaling production, not supply, Is the real SAF challenge
After he was handcuffed, Winkler "got on his knees and started saying things like, 'I should apologize to Donald Trump,'" the filing, signed by the Secret Service officer, showed.
Winkler later told authorities that "he did not know he could not point the laser at Marine One" and that "he points the laser at all kinds of things, such as stop signs."
The filing did not mention whether anyone aboard the helicopter noticed the laser.
Trump had been travelling to the state of Virginia to give a speech to the American Cornerstone Institute, according to US media.
The Federal Aviation Administration says lasers pose a "serious safety threat" to aircraft and can incapacitate pilots.
The agency recorded 5,913 laser incidents this year.