A 33-year-old Washington D.C. man is accused of aiming a laser pointer at Marine One while the chopper was carrying President Trump. Marine One was airborne and headed toward the Washington Monument grounds with the President on board Saturday night when Secret Service officer Diego Santiago spotted suspect Jacob Samuel Winkler “shirtless, talking to himself and being loud,” according to a ...

U.S. President Donald Trump boards the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., en route to Alabama on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

A 33-year-old Washington D.C. man is accused of aiming a laser pointer at Marine One while the chopper was carrying President Trump.

Marine One was airborne and headed toward the Washington Monument grounds with the President on board Saturday night when Secret Service officer Diego Santiago spotted suspect Jacob Samuel Winkler “shirtless, talking to himself and being loud,” according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

When Santiago shined his flashlight at Winkler, the suspect allegedly responded by aiming a red laser beam at the officer.

“At this time, Marine One flew at a relatively low height and directly above Officer Santiago and D1’s location. Marine One was close enough that the rotor noise was loud, and the aircraft appeared large overhead,” Santiago claims.

The uniformed officer said Winkler then flashed his laser pointer at Marine One, which posed a threat to the President and others in the helicopter.

Santiago detained and handcuffed Williams, whom the officer claimed then said: “I should apologize to Donald Trump.”

Winckler could be charged with a felony that carries up to five years in prison, according to NBC News.

A helicopter carrying the President was forced to make an emergency landing in London last week while traveling to England’s Stansted Airport. The White House blamed that inconvenience on a “minor hydraulic issue.”