Patriot Act Nabs Prankster
A man in New Jersey who admittedly shone a green laser into a small chartered Cessna jet on December 29th faces charges under the Patriot Act. David Banach first denied having shone the laser at any aircraft and blamed his daughter, but later confessed to shining the laser at the airplane as well as at the Port Authority helicopter that caught him.
The man, while arguably very stupid, now faces an incredible 25 years in prison.
Once again, the Patriot Act is working to catch terrorists and keep Americans safe! (pardon my sarcasm)
Here are the words of the provision, with the possible areas violated in bold:
Sec. 1993. Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence against mass transportation systems
(a) GENERAL PROHIBITIONS- Whoever willfully–
(1) wrecks, derails, sets fire to, or disables a mass transportation vehicle or ferry;
(2) places or causes to be placed any biological agent or toxin for use as a weapon, destructive substance, or destructive device in, upon, or near a mass transportation vehicle or ferry, without previously obtaining the permission of the mass transportation provider, and with intent to endanger the safety of any passenger or employee of the mass transportation provider, or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life;
(3) sets fire to, or places any biological agent or toxin for use as a weapon, destructive substance, or destructive device in, upon, or near any garage, terminal, structure, supply, or facility used in the operation of, or in support of the operation of, a mass transportation vehicle or ferry, without previously obtaining the permission of the mass transportation provider, and knowing or having reason to know such activity would likely derail, disable, or wreck a mass transportation vehicle or ferry used, operated, or employed by the mass transportation provider;
(4) removes appurtenances from, damages, or otherwise impairs the operation of a mass transportation signal system, including a train control system, centralized dispatching system, or rail grade crossing warning signal without authorization from the mass transportation provider;
(5) interferes with, disables, or incapacitates any dispatcher, driver, captain, or person while they are employed in dispatching, operating, or maintaining a mass transportation vehicle or ferry, with intent to endanger the safety of any passenger or employee of the mass transportation provider, or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life;
(6) commits an act, including the use of a dangerous weapon, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to an employee or passenger of a mass transportation provider or any other person while any of the foregoing are on the property of a mass transportation provider;
(7) conveys or causes to be conveyed false information, knowing the information to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made, to do any act which would be a crime prohibited by this subsection; or
(8) attempts, threatens, or conspires to do any of the aforesaid acts,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, if such act is committed, or in the case of a threat or conspiracy such act would be committed, on, against, or affecting a mass transportation provider engaged in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or if in the course of committing such act, that person travels or communicates across a State line in order to commit such act, or transports materials across a State line in aid of the commission of such act.
The Patriot Act: Section 801
No life was in danger, so I doubt the prosecutor can prove “reckless disregard for the safety of human life,” and that means that it must be proved that he shone the laser in an attempt to kill or severely injure the pilots or passengers of the plane. Merely interfering isn’t a crime.
And as an aside: the laser used is wicked cool… I want one!
Update: The New York Post headline: Plane Stupid (groan… via Michelle)
I notified the FBI after the Colorado Springs incident was being widely reported that the green lasers are readily available via the internet or through amateur astronomy magazines such as Sky and Telescope or Astronomy. I would LOVE to have such a device as the beam is clearly visible (like the ray-guns of old sci-fi movies) through the atmosphere as a green beam of light.
The reference to the Patriot Act:
“(5) interferes with, disables, or incapacitates any dispatcher, driver, captain, or person while they are employed in dispatching, operating, or maintaining a mass transportation vehicle or ferry, with intent to endanger the safety of any passenger or employee of the mass transportation provider, or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life;”
“(6) commits an act, including the use of a dangerous weapon, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to an employee or passenger of a mass transportation provider or any other person while any of the foregoing are on the property of a mass transportation provider;”
does not apply here and I would think a rational jury would aquit the offender as just being ignorant. There was obviously no intent to cause death or serious injury to anyone nor did his action “recklessly interfere” nor did he willfully “disregard anyones safety.” The US Attorney would be wise to let this one slide rather than punish some poor working slob/father with 25 years in prison. The guy was just plain stupid.
Randy Rogers
Denver, CO
As cool as a laser pen is, one should not be shining it intentionally at an airplane in flight. That should be a crime and it should be punishable, but not for 20 or 25 years of jail time. Maybe a nice $5000 fine would teach this moron a lesson.
No, YOU Read the Law!
Michelle Malkin disagrees with my assessment of the case of the man who shined a laser into an airplane and is getting prosecuted under the Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act makes it illegal for terrorists and anybody else to intentionally use a “danger…
[...] We’re All Terrorists Now and Department of Homeland Police State says Mistakes Should Be Subject to Death!! Have you been observing the stars using a green laser? How about own a strip club? How about own a toy store? Have radical political beliefs? Like to take pictures of nature?In this new orwellian world of our current Government we are all Terrorists now.As far as the Government is concerned, anyone that challenges the Government in any way or actually would like to be left alone is a Terrorist.The latest outrage is our Government’s arrogant belief that anything you own can be subject to a search without any court oversight. No warrants needed if you are under suspicion of being a terrorist, which is all American citizens nowadays.Absurd you say?Below is an excerpt from an article which appeared on http://drudgereport.com/ today:”Officials from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Open Society Institute and the Center for Democracy and Technology said in a telephone conference call the new provisions to the USA Patriot Act would allow the FBI to secretly demand medical, tax, gun purchase, travel and other records without needing to get approval from a judge.”http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050523/2005-05-23T194203Z_01_N23232766_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-CONGRESS-PATRIOT-DC.htmlYou think this is nutty folks, you ain’t seen nothing yet.Now, The Department of Homeland Police State (err…security) wants the authority to shoot down errant planes who enter White House Airspace:”WASHINGTON (AP) – The Homeland Security Department is considering whether it should seek authority for its pilots to shoot down errant planes around the nation’s capital like the one that came within three miles of the White House this month, according to an internal agency memo obtained by The Associated Press.”http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050523/D8A95PAG0.htmlYou got that? People who make mistakes should die!Hey what’s the big deal if a few people needlessly die?As long we’re safe, right?Just more evidence that your life belongs to the State and they can snuff it out if they darn well feel like it.Patrick Sovereign,Enemy of The State [...]
[...] Tempus Fugit | TxFx.net [...]