Man Acquitted of Shining a Laser at Marine One With Trump Aboard
A Washington man who was accused of aiming a laser pointer at Marine One, the presidential helicopter, as it was leaving the White House in September with President Trump aboard was acquitted on Tuesday, according to court documents.
A jury found the man, Jacob Samuel Winkler, 33, not guilty after just 35 minutes of deliberation, lawyers representing Mr. Winkler said.
Alexis Gardner, a federal public defender for Mr. Winkler, called the case “a clear example of misuse of prosecutorial discretion.”
She said federal resources were spent charging a man “whose alleged weapon was a cat toy key chain,” adding that it was “time and money diverted from real public safety threats.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/us/politics/marine-laser-trump-acquitted.html
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I don't think there was ever any danger of affecting the pilot by aiming at his eye (too far away, too low-powered, too much high quality glass in the way) but it might've appeared to people in the cockpit to be someone aiming a gun with laser scope at the aircraft so that's where it could maybe create a danger from a panic.
Although from this blurb it doesn't say he aimed it at the cockpit, perhaps it was not, and that's why nothing happened to him? 
Otherwise:
Federal law
The relevant statute is 18 U.S.C. § 39A – “Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.”
It makes it a federal offense if someone “knowingly aims the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, or at the flight path of such an aircraft.”
The law’s definition of “laser pointer” is broad and covers any device used as a pointer or highlighter, not just powerful green pointers.
Penalties:
Up to 5 years in federal prison and fines under the criminal code (often quoted as up to $250,000).
The FAA can also impose civil penalties up to $11,000 per violation and over $30,000 for multiple incidents.
I don't have a NYT subscription but I'd suppose the reason the jury let the guy walk is that they weren't convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he did so intentionally
if they have a patriotic bone in their body----
but yeah I know, times are hard.... be a tough decision to give up a steady job,
and all that....
oh, but wait---- they could start a 'GoFundMe' saying
"I decided I could no longer fly Trump's airplane"
and they would be SET for a year or two!
sadly, they might get more donations if they actually SHOT someone...
like the new millionaire ICE agent who shot the white woman to death in Minnesota...
(Oh wait. Let me think here...)
he was found 'not guilty' so I guess he didn't have even THAT much...