Man to Face Charges in Box Cutter Case ( Make fun of Homeland Sec. ...

[Noordam]

AP News

Man to Face Charges in Box Cutter Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 20, 2003


Filed at 10:13 a.m. ET

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A college student who the FBI believes hid box cutters and other banned items aboard two airplanes will face federal charges, a law enforcement source said Monday.

The charges against Nathaniel Heatwole, a 20-year-old junior at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., will likely deal with carrying prohibited items aboard a plane, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Heatwole was expected to have an initial court appearance at 3 p.m. Monday in U.S. District Court, the source said. A criminal complaint had not yet been filed Monday morning in the court clerk's office.

..more at article....

[slackmaster]

1. HS should hire the guy as a consultant

Or give him a medal for pointing out weaknesses in the system.

[MaineDem]

3. My thoughts exactly

Give this kid a job!

[speckledgator]

2. Pointing out

the sham of Homeland security is clearly treason....off with his head!

[sistersofmercy]

4. Prosecuting him will only give more public exposure to the failures

of HS, at every turn, the nitwits show how truly stupid they are.

[izzie]

5. I do not think Ashcroft is in to jokes.

:hi:

[0007]

6. This kid made Ashcroft look like the sap

he is, hope the kid doesn't wind up in Cuba.

This is an illustration of what a joke our HomeLand Security indeed is, and the clowns running the country.

[Robb]

7. Update: Box Cutters on Planes 5 Weeks, FBI Says

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20031020_1118.html

The first bag was carried on in Raleigh-Durham on Sept. 12 the day after the two-year aniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and the second on Sept. 15 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, the affidavit said.

Each bag contained a note detailing when and where the bags were carried aboard, as well as modeling clay simulated to look like plastic explosives, matches and bleach hidden in sunscreen bottles.

(snip)

The FBI affidavit said that, in interviews with FBI agents, Heatwole acknowledged writing the e-mail to the TSA to alert authorities to the presence of the bags. He signed printed copies of the e-mail in the presence of FBI agents as well as the notes found in the bags, verifying that he was the author of all three, the affidavit said.

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.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

8. Nathaniel Heatwole: American Hero

He willingly incurred the wrath of the Bush Administration to illustrate how at-risk Americans are to ongoing terrorist threats. I agree -- the guy should be given a medal.

[jiacinto]

9. Good he should face charges

His stunt cost all us money and time.

[Bushknew]

11. ThatÕs just what a Republican would say.

His stunt showed us what a joke HLS is.

[mac56]

12. "His stunt cost all us money and time."

And it also opened some eyes, and nobody got killed in the process.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mac56]

18. soooo...we're not allowed to disagree with him?

nm

[Loyal]

19. No, you can disagree

But you can't accuse him of being a freeper when he has been here a LOT longer than you.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. So, longevity on DU indicates political beliefs? Interesting.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

20. Bill O'Reilley? Is that you?

Hi, Bill. Never would've known you if you hadn't blurted out the signature "shut up".

And don't get started on the 'he donates and has a special star' bullshit. No one gives a fuck if he's donated.

The other poster shouldn't have mentioned the freeper stuff, but it's not the first time Carlos has been accused, and it likely won't be the last.

Post count is meaningless. You really shouldn't take that road.

Quit with the post count and star-by-my-name crap. It's sickening.

[Robb]

21. No kidding

"Shut up" indeed. :eyes: Now that's some good debatin'!

I agree w/DisgustipatedinCA, don't trot out your post count like it makes your viewpoints more valid.

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

16. His stunt didn't cost us time and money

It merely revealed the amount of time and money that had already been wasted. And the amount correlates well with the budget of Homeland Security.

He wanted to make a statement that the security was a failure, and the only way people would listen was to do what he did. I would much rather him be pointing out that failure than a terrorist.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

24. Why? Because you spent all of 5 seconds catching the sound-bite?

[NickB79]

27. Yeah, like terrorism doesn't cost us time and money

You think this cost us time and money? If we don't bone up on our security, how much time and money will be wasted the next time a terrorist hijacks an airliner and crashes it? This is a drop in the bucket compared to what a successful terrorist hijacking would cause. This was an EXTREMELY effective way of pointing out that we are still very vulnerable in key areas. Do you think airlines would fortify their security if this young man had simply sent an e-mail mentioning how he COULD do these things? No, they would have blown his ideas off as too expensive and too unlikely, and nothing would have been done.

What's that saying, something about an ounce of prevention?

[damnraddem]

10. He should be prosecuted to the full legal extent -- like perhaps ...

a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Of course, the asleep-at-the-switch misadministration can't see it that way (whether or not they were involved in putting the switch to sleep).

[Selwynn]

13. That's a fantastic signature graphic!

I think I'm going to use that on my emails , if you don't mind.

[Buns_of_Fire]

15. I understand what he was trying to do, BUT...

Bringing "loaded" box-cutters onto a plane? Removing the blades would have proven the same point, I'm sure. Putting bleach in suntan bottles? Grape Kool-Aid would have served the same purpose. Suppose his "presents" had been found by someone not as pacifistic in nature, with a real axe to grind...?

Like I said, I understand, and I don't disagree with the point he was apparently trying to make, but I fear this young man has served himself up on a platter.

[Robb]

22. You're probably right

...But unloaded boxcutters and grape kool-aid would've given DHS a chance to say, "well, we would have stopped the real thing"; sort of like when ABC (CBS?) reporters brought depleted uranium into the country a few months back....

[Buns_of_Fire]

26. Damned if you do, damned if you don't

Should he have introduced a defanged pseudo-threat, or a genuine (albeit very well hidden, since it now appears the TSA doesn't read their e-mails) potential threat? Either way, DHS/TSA would spin it and go after him just for embarrassing them (they've already begun their spin, by proclaiming that they never claimed any system was 100% foolproof).

Either way, the guy has, IMO, performed a public service. And now he'll be pilloried (and charged with a felony) for doing it.

[diamond14]

23. it's very apparent to most airline travelers that security is a JOKE!

the complete failure to even prevent PAPERCUTTERS, two years after the attacks shows how much of a failure the shrub really is....

after spending BILLIONS of our tax dollars, two years of effort, deploying more than 140,000 of our YOUNG soldiers...bush* can't find osama bin laden, WMD, saddam, or even papercutters still coming onto our airlines....isn't it time to hold BUSH* accountable for this, rather than continuing to stifle anything at all the brings up the real issues about protecting America.....