Man Charged With Aiming Laser At Marine One With Trump Aboard

Federal agents arrested a man Saturday for allegedly aiming a laser at Marine One while President Donald Trump was aboard.

Authorities identified the suspect as Jacob Samuel Winkler, who reportedly targeted the presidential helicopter with a red laser beam as it lifted off from the White House grounds, according to the court filing. The laser posed a threat of “flash blindness and pilot disorientation,” especially given Marine One’s low altitude and proximity to other aircraft at the time of the incident.

Secret Service personnel stationed nearby saw Winkler, who appeared shirtless, loud, and talking to himself, walking along Constitution Avenue. As the helicopter passed overhead, a ground officer aimed a flashlight at him. Winkler allegedly retaliated by shining a laser into the officer’s eyes, momentarily blinding him.

The complaint states Winkler then redirected the beam toward Marine One as it flew directly above. Officers quickly detained him at the scene. Winkler dropped to his knees and reportedly said “I should apologize to Donald Trump” and “I apologize to Donald Trump,” according to the filing. Agents recovered a red laser pointer and a fixed-blade knife from Winkler, who later admitted to aiming the device at the aircraft. He claimed he “did not know he could not point the laser at Marine One.”

Prosecutors charged Winkler with knowingly aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft under U.S. jurisdiction, an offense under federal law. He waived his right to legal counsel during questioning, according to the complaint.

Authorities are taking threats against Trump seriously, arresting a woman in August for allegedly plotting to kill him. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Nathalie Rose Jones traveled from New York to Washington, D.C. and posted online that Trump should be “eliminated,” leading to federal charges for willfully threatening the president’s life.

Assassins attempted to kill Trump twice in 2024, first in July and again in September. In the initial attack, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a shot that grazed Trump’s ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Two months later, Ryan Routh tried to assassinate Trump on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla.