The individual faces a felony charge that is punishable by up to five years in prison
A man has been arrested in Washington DC for allegedly aiming a red laser pointer at Marine One, the helicopter carrying US President Donald Trump.
According to a criminal complaint signed by Secret Service Officer Diego Santiago and published on the DC District Court website on Monday, the incident occurred on Saturday evening as Trump departed the White House for a private dinner. Santiago, who was monitoring the flight path, said he saw the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Jacob Samuel Winkler of Washington DC.
Winkler was “shirtless, talking to himself and being loud” on Constitution Avenue northeast of the White House.
Santiago said he shined a flashlight on Winkler due to poor visibility. Winkler allegedly responded by pointing a red laser at the officer, briefly disorienting him, before turning the beam on Marine One as it flew overhead.
Winkler’s actions “posed a risk of flash blindness and pilot disorientation, especially during low-level flight near other helicopters and the Washington Monument,” the affidavit stated. “This placed Marine One at risk of an airborne collision.”
Winkler was taken into custody and charged with aiming a laser at an aircraft, a felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Police are investigating whether he deliberately targeted the helicopter or acted carelessly. He later claimed he did not know it was illegal, saying he often points the laser at “all kinds of things” and that he wished to “apologize to Donald Trump.”
The filing does not say if anyone aboard Marine One noticed the beam. Earlier this year, the US Federal Aviation Administration warned that lasers pose a “serious safety threat” to aircraft, reporting nearly 6,000 incidents in 2024 alone.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts in the past year. In July 2024, a gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear. Last September, Secret Service agents foiled another alleged plot at the president’s West Palm Beach golf course involving pro-Ukraine activist Ryan Wesley Routh. The suspect pleaded not guilty and rested his case on Monday after a brief defense. Jurors are set to hear closing arguments later on Tuesday.
