Man accused of aiming laser at Trump helicopter acquitted in 35 minutes [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Sat 17 Jan 2026 15.56 EST
Last modified on Sat 17 Jan 2026 15.58 EST
A man tried on a felony charge of aiming a laser at presidential helicopter Marine One while it was transporting Donald Trump was acquitted recently by a jury in Washington DC – which reached its decision in about 35 minutes Tuesday.
The swift verdict of not guilty in the case of Jacob Winkler represented another high-profile defeat for Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host whom Trump appointed to be the US attorney for the nation’s capital. Pirro’s office has pursued harsh penalties against individuals accused of attacking federal officers or threatening the president but has failed multiple times.
Winkler, 33, was arrested in September after a US Secret Service agent claimed to have seen him point a red laser beam toward Marine One as it flew low shortly after leaving the White House. He faced a felony count of aiming a laser at an aircraft, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. Pirro subsequently promised her office would prosecute Winkler “to the fullest extent of the law”.
At the conclusion of his trial Tuesday, jurors deliberated for a little more than half an hour before acquitting Winkler, according to his public defenders, Alexis Gardner and Ubong Akpan. In a statement to HuffPost, Gardner and Akpan said the outcome highlighted “a disturbing reality”. “In the most powerful city in the world,” the statement said, “the federal government spent scarce resources to make a felon out of a homeless man with nothing but a cat toy keychain.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/17/laser-beam-trump-jeanine-pirro
Another Pirro FAIL.
= new reply since forum marked as read