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| 2003-10-21 |
| BALTIMORE (AP) - A college student who told authorities he placed box cutters and other banned items aboard two airliners to test security was charged Monday with taking a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft and was released without bail. Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, told federal agents he went through normal security procedures at airports in Baltimore and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Once aboard, he said he hid the banned items in compartments in the planes’ rear lavatories. A preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 10. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey Eisenberg said the government was not seeking detention, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Gauvey freed Heatwole on his own recognizance. Although Heatwole sent an e-mail to federal authorities saying he had placed the items aboard two specific Southwest Airlines flights, it took authorities nearly five weeks to find them. This is the real problem. The judge set a number of conditions for Heatwole’s release, including that he not enter any airport or board any airplane. Heatwole sat stoney faced during the hearing. His parents were in the courtroom but did not greet or acknowledge him during the hearing and did not comment afterward. And just try to persaude your father to pay your tuition bill this winter! The charge against Heatwole, a junior at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Wonder if Heatwole pondered that one at all? Discovery of the items Thursday aboard Southwest planes that landed in New Orleans and Houston triggered stepped-up inspections of the entire U.S. commercial air fleet - roughly 7,000 planes. But after consulting with the FBI, the Transportation Security Administration rescinded the inspection order and no other suspicious bags were found. Deputy TSA Administrator Stephen McHale said Monday’s court action ``makes clear that renegade acts to probe airport security for whatever reason will not be tolerated, pure and simple... Amateur testing of our systems do not show us in any way our flaws. We know where the vulnerabilities are Ah, so the screw-up is with the TSA and not the Bureau. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose department includes TSA, said officials ``will go back and look at our protocol’’ for handling such e-mails. He said the agency gets a high volume of e-mails about possible threats and that officials decided that Heatwole ``wasn’t an imminent threat.’’ The e-mail provided details of where the plastic bags were hidden - right down to the exact dates and flight numbers - and even provided Heatwole’s name and telephone number. It was unclear whether Heatwole actually hid items on four other planes. ``The e-mail author also stated that he was aware his actions were against the law and that he was aware of the potential consequences for his actions, and that his actions were an ’act of civil disobedience with the aim of improving public safety for the air-traveling public,’’’ the affidavit said. The e-mail was signed ``Nat Heatwole.’’ I sorta see why the TSA blew him off. Guilford is a Quaker college with a history of pacifism and civil disobedience that dates to the Civil War. Heatwole is not a Quaker, but shares many of the tenets of their religion, including a belief in pacifism, according to a February 2002 interview with The Guilfordian, the campus newspaper. Heatwole, a double-major in political science and physics, refused to register for the draft when he turned 18 as required by law, according to the Guilfordian interview. Instead, he sent the Selective Service System a blank registration form and a letter explaining his opposition. ``I wanted to let them hear the voice of dissent,’’ he told the newspaper, ``just in case they were listening.’’ Congrats! You got their attention. Now what? |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #16 There was no sign, nada--just a fat guy yelling at everyone--Delta terminal at La Guardia--"take ya belt off--take ya shoes off--you're holding up the line!" |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-22 12:20:51 AM |
| #15 Huh? Did they tell you (or was there a sign) to take them off? Was it at the metal detector? I'm not sure I understand. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-21 11:55:48 PM |
| #14 At LaGuardia this weekend I was yelled at and told to take my belt and shoes off because I was a "moron" trying to walk through with them on (OK .com and Fred--don't pile on with the "moron" remark! LOL |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-21 11:08:56 PM |
| #13 ..and the Feds and the airlines will probably learn something. I seriously doubt it. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-21 4:13:17 PM |
| #12 The Feds are going to blow lots of smoke over this one, threaten Heatwole with years of rock hockey in the big arena, blah blah blah. In the end Heatwole will quietly get probation and the Feds and the airlines will probably learn something. And that will be that. Next issue... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-10-21 2:29:26 PM |
#11 rkb says: Get a grip, America.It ain't America, cookie, it's Norm Mineta, a DEMOCRAT, who for some inexplicable reason the president did not replace when he came into office, and the other IDIOTS at the TSA. God forbid they hurt someone's feelings by looking at people; better just to take everything and pretend they're making you safe. This bullshit won't prevent highjackings in America; what's preventing them is everybody knows the next time someone tries it, the passengers will kill the bastards on the spot. I drive everyplace I can; it's not worth flying anymore - and I loved to fly. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-10-21 1:58:35 PM |
| #10 Profiling is bad they say. That is why there is no profile of those suitable for security profiling. Is there no end to the current wave of stupidity infecting those accredited with protecting the people including those out of left field? FBI agents not doing their work, interpreters for the pentagon not living up their oath of allegience, TSA agents not passing the test to screen old ladies and babies! |
| Posted by: Barry 2003-10-21 12:37:52 PM |
| #9 A neighbor took her 85-year old mother to San Jose (CA) Mineta airport the other morning - at 5:30 AM - for her return flight to Massachisetts. Mom had put her cane through the conveyor before her replacement hip set off the metal detector. The guardians of public safety immediately hussled her to the side, and told her to step up onto a thick rubber mat. She, barely able to walk, tripped over the raised edge, fell and hit her head and shoulder on one of the tables there. Off to the ER and a day in the hospital. Daughter will have to fly home to get her settled and cared for. As soon as the two women started to leave the scene, someone rushed out and removed the mat. I feel SO much safer! |
| Posted by: Dave 2003-10-21 12:34:52 PM |
| #8 Bombs, guns, large knives, yes. But the hysteria over other items just leaves me shaking my head. Because the government is not interested in stopping terrorists at the expense of political correctness. If this wasn't the case, they'd be looking at PEOPLE, and not items. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-21 11:45:46 AM |
| #7 I'm not going to advocate that he be given a "free pass" for his actions, but he *did* bring this issue front and center. From what I've seen and heard, much of the hoopla about "improved security" after 9/11 is just that--hoopla. Perhaps his action may be just the wake-up call needed to inspire a more serious approach to airline security. |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-10-21 11:37:52 AM |
| #6 Don't give this kid the attension he craves. We knew some kook was bound to pull such a stunt. I'm not sure that we need to alter security procedures to detect matches in a bottle of suntan lotion or clay. It's bad enough that we're shaking down granny for her knitting needles we don't need to be confiscating Playdough and Silly Putty. Passenger screening is more effective than the cavity searches because this delinquent decide to make a spectacle. Give the steward/stewardesse a taser to make everybody feel better, but don't worry about box cutter boy. In reality, if I think Mohammad is going to try to down the plane and all he brought is an exacto-knife, we're sitting pretty as long as I have access to the beverage card. Unless he has donned a helmet, a man can only take a certain number of full soda cans off the head before slipping into unconsciousness. Once he's down - it's not like they confiscated everyone's belts. Have you ever heard of the term "whipping boy." I'd match my imagination against pacifist boy any day. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-21 11:14:19 AM |
| #5 I'm not impressed since this guy would considering yarn a lethal weapon when used properly. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-10-21 10:14:09 AM |
| #4 My grandmother inher 70s got in trouble with the Australian authorities for carry on a plane a tiny blunt knife to cut her food up. |
| Posted by: Bernardz 2003-10-21 8:21:02 AM |
| #3 Okay, I travel and my husband does often, too. And I have to say that I think it's ridiculous to demand that every possibly-useful-as-a-weapon item be screened before people board planes. Bombs, guns, large knives, yes. But the hysteria over other items just leaves me shaking my head. I can't even bring needlepoint to work on during a long flight, for goodness sake! Those 2", blunt tipped needles and scissors with round points might be lethal in the hands of this grey-haired woman. Get a grip, America. |
| Posted by: rkb 2003-10-21 7:56:58 AM |
| #2 I thought failing to register for Selective Service was illegal. Why don't they throw that one at him, too? I guess this is just another pacifist so wrapped up in his own self-worth that he considers himself above the law. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-10-21 7:19:15 AM |
| #1 Heatwole did us all a favor. Instead of being indicted he should be congratulated for bringing attention to serious problems within TSA and FBI. Give the kid a job offer. Though I don't agree with his pacifist politics, I admire his initiative. |
| Posted by: Mark 2003-10-21 6:18:15 AM |