What has Jacob Samuel Winkler been charged with? Suspect arrested after allegedly pointing a laser at Marine One with Trump onboard

A man, identified as Jacob Samuel Winkler, has been detained for allegedly pointing laser at Marine One with US President Donald Trump on board. According to a legal complaint filed by a U.S. Secret Service officer, the red laser beam was pointed at Marine One while it was leaving the White House lawns.

The filing further claimed that there was a risk of "flash blindness and pilot disorientation" since the aircraft was flying at a low altitude near other helicopters. Along with a laser pointer, the investigating officers also recovered a three-inch fixed-blade knife from the suspect. 

While Winkler admitted to have pointed the beam, he claimed "he did not know he could not point the laser at Marine One." According to reports by Politico, the suspect was charged with violating a law prohibiting an individual from knowingly aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft or at the flight path of an aircraft.

The complaint dated September 22, however, accused Jacob Samuel Winkler of knowingly aiming the beam of laser pointer at the aircraft. Winkler was reportedly first approached by a Secret Service officials who was responsible for looking after the security on the ground. At the time, Winkler alleged was "shirtless, talking to himself and being loud."

Exploring more about the chain of events that led to the arrest of Jacob Samuel Winkler 

As previously mentioned, a Secret Service officer first approached the suspect since he was being loud. The officer, Diego Santiago, was monitoring the security measures in the area while the helicopter with Donald Trump in it, was taking off from the South grounds of the White House. 

This was when Santiago noticed Jacob Samuel Winkler, being loud and roaming around shirtless. Santiago claimed that this prompted him to point a flashlight at him who, in return, pointed a laser beam at the ground officer. According to Santiago, this caused him to get briefly disoriented as well.

Shortly after this, Diego Santiago noticed that Jacob Samuel Winkler was pointing a laser beam at the Marine One, while the aircraft was taking off. In an affidavit, Santiago said,

"(Winkler’s) conduct posed a risk of flash blindness and pilot disorientation, especially during low-level flight near other helicopters (U.S. Park Police, U.S. Marine Corps) and the Washington Monument. This placed Marine One at risk of an airborne collision."

The chain of events soon led to Santiago detaining Winkler and also recovering the laser pointer from him. According to reports by USA Today, during the arrest while Winkler was on his knees, he kept repeating "I should apologize to Donald Trump," and "I apologize to Donald Trump."

For the unversed, aiming a laser beam at an aircraft is treated as a federal offense and a felony. If convicted, the individual can face upto five years in jail along with a fine of $250,000. 

As of now, it is unknown if the suspect has retained a lawyer to represent him in the court. USA Today reported that laser strikes can be extremely dangerous for pilots. Federal Aviation Administration stated that more than 12,000 such strikes were reported by pilots last year.