Washington man acquitted in case over alleged laser pointed at Marine One

A Washington man, Jacob Samuel Winkler, was acquitted on Tuesday of a federal charge that he aimed a laser at Marine One while President Trump was aboard, according to court documents. A jury found Mr. Winkler, 33, not guilty after just 35 minutes of deliberation. He had been arrested in September and charged with pointing a laser at an aircraft, a federal felony.

After the verdict, Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered Mr. Winkler acquitted, discharged and any bond exonerated, court records show. A criminal complaint said a uniformed Secret Service officer saw Mr. Winkler on the sidewalk on Constitution Avenue shine a red laser at the presidential helicopter as it made a low initial ascent from the South grounds of the White House.

The complaint said Mr. Trump was traveling to Virginia to give a speech and that Mr. Winkler had also directed the beam at the officer before aiming it at the helicopter. The complaint said the officer had been trying to observe Mr. Winkler because he was being loud, talking to himself and was not wearing a shirt, and that Mr.

Winkler appeared to have acted in retaliation after the officer pointed a flashlight at him. The Federal Aviation Administration has said that when a laser pointer reaches a cockpit the light can disorient or "completely incapacitate" a pilot. Alexis Gardner, a federal public defender for Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Jacob Samuel Winkler, Marine One, White House, Secret Service, Beryl A. Howell