A Washington, DC resident has been charged following an incident on Saturday, September 20, 2025, where a man directed a hand-held laser pointer in the direction of the Marine One helicopter, which had President Donald Trump on board.
Marine One is the callsign used by the US Marines’ VH-3D Sea Kings that are used for ferrying the US president to and from the White House in the US capital, as well as on other trips and visits.
As reported by CBS News, the individual concerned, named by the authorities as Jacob Samuel Winkler, 33, was spotted by a uniformed Secret Service officer, shirtless and talking to himself while standing on the sidewalk near the White House on the date in question. Following a verbal challenge from the officer, who also shone a torch in Winkler’s direction, Winkler was reported to have retaliated by flashing a red laser beam in the direction of the officer’s face.
According to the officer’s police statement, Marine One flew directly overhead the two men. The officer’s statement added that Winkler looked up at the helicopter and subsequently aimed the laser pointer directly at the departing helicopter. “This action placed Marine One at risk of an airborne collision,” the Secret Service officer wrote
Winkler was subsequently arrested by the officer at the scene, assisted by other police personnel. Officers also discovered Winkler to be in possession of a small knife upon carrying out a search.
At the time of the incident, President Trump was on his way to give an address to the American Cornerstone Institute at Mount Vernon, the former Virginia estate of former President George Washington.
Following his arrest and being restrained by handcuffs, Winkler stated on multiple occasions that, “I should apologize to Donald Trump,” and “I apologize to Donald Trump,” according to the statement. On Monday, September 22, 2025, Winkler was slapped with a felony charge of directing a laser pointer at an aircraft and endangering the aircraft itself.
This specific felony carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, should Winkler be found guilty at any future court hearing. Online court records don’t list any attorney representing Winkler at the hearing.
The officer noted in their statement that Winkler’s actions could have temporarily blinded or disoriented the pilot, putting Marine One at risk of colliding with another aircraft or crashing back into the ground. However, it has not been disclosed whether anyone on the helicopter, including the president himself, noticed the laser at any point.
According to reports, the White House has not provided an official statement regarding the event or subsequent arrest.
“This behavior endangers Marine One and everyone on board,” said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro in a statement as reported by Associated Press. “If you engage in this act, you will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Following his arrest, Winkler told the authorities that he regularly points the laser “at all kinds of things,” like stop signs, and didn’t know he couldn’t direct the beam at Marine One, according to legal papers filed following the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) states that lasers pose a “serious safety threat” to aircraft because they can incapacitate pilots. The agency has recorded 5,913 laser-related incidents so far in 2025 (averaging around 28 per day) and almost 13,000 in the whole of 2024.
