A man tried on a felony charge of pointing a laser at the presidential helicopter Marine One as it transported Donald Trump was recently acquitted by a jury in Washington, D.C. — which reached its decision in about 35 minutes on Tuesday.
The fast one Judgment The acquittal in the Jacob Winkler case marks another high-profile defeat for Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News anchor appointed by Trump to be U.S. attorney for the nation’s capital. Perot’s office has applied harsh penalties against individuals accused of attacking federal officers or threatening the president, but has failed several times.
Winkler, 33, was arrested in September after a US Secret Service agent claimed he saw him direct a red laser beam at Marine One while flying at low altitude shortly after leaving the White House. He faced a felony charge of pointing a laser at an aircraft, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Pirro then promised that 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 a half-hour before acquitting Winkler, according to his public defenders, Alexis Gardner and Oppong Akpan.
In a statement to HuffPostGardner and Akpan said the finding highlighted an “inconvenient truth.”
“In the most powerful city in the world, the federal government has spent scarce resources making a homeless man a criminal with nothing but a toy cat keychain,” the statement read.
“Every hour we spend on this issue is an hour not spent addressing the real threats to our community. We need to stop policing poverty and start investing in dignity.”
After Trump declared a criminal emergency and sent troops to Washington, D.C., last summer, Perot’s office filed several federal cases in which local residents were charged with assaulting federal officers or making threats against Trump. At the administration’s direction, agents from agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted patrols throughout the city.
The ruling in the Winkler case brings to mind another recent loss suffered by the US Attorney’s Office in DC, led by Pirro. In that case, prosecutors failed to convict a man who was charged with assault for throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in November.
Sean Charles Dunn, who previously worked as a paralegal at the US Department of Justice, became a visible symbol of opposition to Trump’s presence in the capital after footage went viral showing him – wearing a pink polo shirt and shorts – throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent wearing a bulletproof vest.
“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn shouted at officers on August 10, calling them “fascists.” He ran away immediately after throwing the sandwich.
Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. The office issued at least 16 press releases for the work week that begins Monday. None of them focused on Winkler’s trial.