An Austin man is facing charges after police say he tossed a drone
and a ham radio over the fence because he was tired of his neighbor
“getting in his head.”
Steven Anthony Garza faces an assault charge in connection with the
incident. According to the arrest affidavit filed by Austin Police,
Garza stormed into Matthew Hammons’ yard while Hammons was using his
amateur radio equipment to talk with his father. Hammons told police
Garza charged him while making gestures indicating he was looking to
fight. Hammons told officers Garza first broke his radio’s antenna and
then headbutted him; Hammons went inside.
While inside his home, Hammons told police he watched as Garza threw
his Yaesu 857-D radio and a personal DJI Phantom drone over the fence
causing $4,000 in damage.
Northeast Bexar County resident John Watkins III is accused of making death threats to members of an amateur radio club.
Watkins
was arrested on two counts of making a terroristic threat, and booked
into jail Saturday. Records show he has been released after posting
$4,000 bond.
According
to an arrest warrant affidavit, radio club members determined someone
was making threats, using racial slurs and creating “white noise,” or
static, on the channels that they use for broadcasting.
Ham radio is one of the more diverse groups in any hobby. From janitors to jockeys, most anyone and everyone can be a ham operator. Among the ranks you will often find the most courteous and polite and respectful operators around.
In March 2009, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) in the amount of $17,000 to David Edward Perka, KA3PRB, of Lewisburg, Tennessee. The FCC alleges that Perka "willfully and repeatedly violat[ed] section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, by operating without a license in the Maritime Radio Service and willfully violat[ed] Section 333 of the Act by maliciously interfering with the United States Coast Guard on the International Distress, Safety and Calling Channel in Annapolis, Maryland" Perka, who admitted to the findings, requested a reduction in the forfeiture amount, based on his inability to pay, but in a Forfeiture Order released by the FCC on September 21, 2011, the Commission refused to lower the amount.
John Aegerter, WA9GAR, who ran a communications business in Brookfield, WI, was found brutally murdered June 22.
One of the suspects, Lynn M. Hajny, is the wife of a fellow ham (Albert, WB9LIV) who was reportedly going to lose his job at the business (Air Page, Corp) due to cutbacks. Albert is not a suspect in the slaying as he was unaware of his impending unemployment.
Hajny and a boyfriend, Tommy V. Douyette are charged in the attack.
According to the article:
Aegerter was found face down in the garage, his ankles and neck bound with electrical cords, his face duct-taped and several plastic grocery bags over his head, the reports said. Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Lough said he had broken ribs, a broken nose and "there might have been a knife involved."
Acoording to reports, both suspects have given statements basically confessing to the crime. He reportedly did not marry or have any kids.
If you've been paying attention to some of the news itemsthisweek, legislation is now introduced (by Pete King of New York) that would force amateur radio operators to give up the popular 70cm (440MHz) band by selling the spectrum off to commercial interests that would offset lost revenue from reallocating first responders' frequencies in order to streamline communications. This comes in light of a review by the 9/11 Commission which recommended a more integrated network of communicating with the different agencies to prevent the communications issues that arose during the attacks on September 11, 2001.
The frequencies given to the first responders is the freed up spectrum from the conversion of TV from analog to digital.
Bill HR 607 has now been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles telecommunications legislation. It's one of the beginning steps that is taken to get an act passed through into law. A long ways to go, but when it comes to raising money through a bake sale method, Congress finds ways to move it through in expedited fashion.
There are a couple of obstacles that could get in the way, in the form of two members of Congress who are hams. One is Greg Walden, W7EQI, who made headlines in December when he tweeted in morse code on Twitter that he was going to chair the House Communications Subcommittee. This may be the biggest ally ham radio has, and he's in a powerful position to force the bill back in to revision.
The other congressional ham operator is Representative Mike Ross, WD5DVR of Arkansas. He is a Democrat (Walden is Republican) so the potential for getting support of the opposition of this Bill in its present form on both sides of the aisle is greater.
Another potential ally is Congressman Billy Long of Missouri, who co-sponsored the Bill. He's gone on record in USA Today stating he's willing to come to an amicable solution to ensure that neither the first responders or hams are affected by this spectrum selloff, so we need to hold him to that promise.
I can understand the need to raise "bail money" considering the debt we're getting ourselves into, but doing so at the cost of one the best resources for emergency communications is a grave misstep. Besides, there's some spectrum down in the 220 band that was sold off awhile back and look how that turned out. Why not give that to the first responders? Or give it back to the amateur operators who would use it more than it's being used now.
Last month I posted about a suspicious claim from Italian "scientists" that they had a machine that was producing 12,400 Watts of heat power out on 400 Watts on input.
The italian claim is off-base and without much merit, but now the US Navy has researchers in a lab claiming a breakthrough in nuclear energy-based cold fusion:
The scientists on Monday described what they called the first clear visual evidence that low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR), or cold fusion devices can produce neutrons, subatomic particles that scientists say are indicative of nuclear reactions.
Cold fusion is still skeptical to me, however, the US Navy is more of a respectable source than some questionable scientists who self-publish their hogwash.
They say things happen in threes, and tower fights are no exception.
Within a week, 3 articles appear online about homeowners fighting neighbors over towers in their backyards:
In Maryland, residents in Severna Park are up in arms over construction of an 80' tower despite owner Richard Hambly (W2GPS) obtaining all the necessary permits for the tower. Hambly, who designs GPS hardware and is a consultant on Satellite projects (someone who's quite familiar with radio interference issues) is facing complaints that neighbors have about the tower affecting property value and aesthetics and one complained that neighbors were not consulted beforehand. I didn't know hams needed their neighbors' blessings before putting up towers...
An appeal to rescind his permit was on February 9th.
In New York City, residents are complaining that a 30' tower was constructed illegally and is obstructing their view (as if there's much to see in NYC other than more buildings, judging by the slideshow).
Paul Isaacs, W2JGQ contends it was constructed legally but the city apparently revoked the permit.
Citing a work order stoppage, residents are demanding the tower be removed permanently.
And out in Arizona, Lee Winsor, K1VIK is in a dispute with neighbors over 2 towers he wants built (40 and 33 feet respectively) and is claiming his knowledge of ham radio and the need for antennas trumps that of the city planning staff and wants an engineering study performed. Casa Grande ordinance states that towers cannot exceed the height of the roof of the main structure on the property, which in this case is 16 feet.
68 residents signed a petition to have construction of the tower blocked.
(PhysOrg.com) -- Few areas of science are more controversial than cold fusion, the hypothetical near-room-temperature reaction in which two smaller nuclei join together to form a single larger nucleus while releasing large amounts of energy. In the 1980s, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleishmann claimed to have demonstrated cold fusion - which could potentially provide the world with a cheap, clean energy source - but their experiment could not be reproduced. Since then, all other claims of cold fusion have been illegitimate, and studies have shown that cold fusion is theoretically implausible, causing mainstream science to become highly speculative of the field in general.
Despite the intense skepticism, a small community of scientists is still investigating near-room-temperature fusion reactions. The latest news occurred last week, when Italian scientists Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi of the University of Bologna announced that they developed a cold fusion device capable of producing 12,400 W of heat power with an input of just 400 W. Last Friday, the scientists held a private invitation press conference in Bologna, attended by about 50 people, where they demonstrated what they claim is a nickel-hydrogen fusion reactor. Further, the scientists say that the reactor is well beyond the research phase; they plan to start shipping commercial devices within the next three months and start mass production by the end of 2011.
Like most the rest of the world, I call bullshit, and I know jack about physics. The paper they submitted on this reactor has been rejected by their peers, citing lack of proper theory on how the reaction works, but it was published in the Journal of Nuclear Physics. Never heard of it? That's because the scientists themselves fund and operate it!
They have applied for a patent, but it has been partially rejected, citing lack of evidence since it apparently is designed to defy the general laws of physics. I don't see why. After all, the Fushigi defies the laws of physics and they got a patent...
The YouTube video (I'll understand if you don't watch the whole 41 minutes, especially if you don't understand Italian) is vague at best on how it works. How appropriate it was in Bologna...
So there you have it, a reactor you can't see, no details on how it specifically works, a partially rejected patent for how the reactor is supposed to work, and the only "journal" to publish their findings is the one they own! So yeah, perhaps I'm a tad skeptical.
Maybe Wayne Green was right after all...hell, he's probably got his hand in this snake oil pitch...
A ham radio operator in Peoria County has some residents outraged.
Craig Thompson is building several towers on his property and his neighbors are apparently concerned with the view once they have been erected:
Furthermore in the comments section, one neighbor has threatened to install an electric dog fence or resort to other means to impede the use of the towers.
The funny thing is, everything Mr. Thompson has done to this point has been legal, cleared by the county, and it's on his personal property. The county trustee even cited amateur radio's federal guidelines (PRB-1) that allow ham radio to supercede tower restrictions.
Last May Irene Levy, KJ6CEY was arrested for causing deliberate interference on local police and fire frequencies in Hemet, CA.
In a followup, she pleaded guilty to 7 different charges, including making bomb threats and causing interference to public service bands.
She was given 3 years probation plus her jail time served. She was also ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling.
She was arrested after a weekend of transmitting on police and fire frequencies, attempting to disguise her voice as a male during the transmissions, and making a variety of noises and threats and references to officers of the department who had died. She continued to transmit right up until a few moments before officers knocked on her door, having triangulated her position with the help of investigators from 3 different police and fire departments using direction finding equipment.
It's unknown how (or if) this will affect her ham radio license. As of now, it is still listed as "active" in the FCC ULS database.
Earlier this year I mentioned a ham in New York (Steve Bozak, WB2IQU/HL9VX) who was cited for "talking on a cellular phone while driving" by a cop who apparently can't tell the difference between a ham radio and a cell phone.
The Vehicle and Traffic Law defines a "Mobile Telephone" as a "device used by subscribers and other users of wireless telephone service to access such service" (VTL §1225-c [1][a]). A "Wireless Telephone Service" is defined as "two-way real time voice tele-communications service that is interconnected to a public switched telephone network and is provided by a commercial mobile radio service, as such term is defined by 47 C.F.R. §20.3 (VTL §1225-c [1][b])(emphasis added). A review of 47 C.F.R.§20.3 reveals that Citizens Band Radio Service is defined under private mobile radio service not commercial mobile radio service. Therefore, the Court finds that the use of an amateur radio device does not fit the definition of a mobile telephone as defined under the Vehicle and Traffic Law and grants the defendant's motion to dismiss.
I sent the link to Steve via Facebook and it was news to him. He hadn't received word until I posted it!
Glad I was able to give him some great news...even if the law lumps ham radio and CB together...
The burned skeletal remains of Gary Haas, N5VGH, and his wife Linda were found in a charred camper on a remote ranch in eastern New Mexico on the morning of Wednesday, August 4. Authorities believe they were killed by escaped convicts, along with an accomplice, who had escaped from an Arizona prison on July 30. Authorities said that the Haas’ bodies and camper were found by a rancher on his property, not far from Santa Rosa, one of the New Mexico cities that the couple frequented; their truck was found in Albuquerque, 100 miles away.
Several international news agencies and blogs are reporting that Manfred Haug (OD5/DL6SN) was arrested last Monday and charged with spying by Lebanese authorities who questioned him over his "sophisticated transmitting equipment".
He was later released and no charges were filed after "intense questioning" by counterintelligence officials.
Manfred works at a cheese factory as an engineer and has lived in the country since 1999.
Lebanese officials have ramped up their security efforts in recent months, arresting dozens of individuals and accusing them of spying for Israel.
When in a country with potential security issues and hostilities, stow the radios!
But it's not so much the planning commission, as it is the neighbors who all of a sudden claim that the tower's interfering with their TVs. The complaints were brought on after Jim (KB9MMA) and his son Samm (KC9POP) had their community service during severe weather attract unwanted attention by local officials and neighbors. Samm is 10 and has issues with Cerebral Palsy.
Granted, I don't live there, and I'm certainly biased when it comes to ham radio towers and the right to have one (I will NEVER live in an HOA thanks to their micro-plutocracies that base their "laws" on the almighty $$$ at the expense of individuality and the freedom of expression) but when the neighbors call a ten-year old a "media puppet" and are indifferent to the public service he's been awarded, the negative attention given to the neighbors is warranted in my opinion.
However, now that the commission has spoken, it looks to be a lost cause. Jim has said he may sue to keep the tower, but at this point, why bother? Get the hell out of there, and move to a place that has wide open spaces, and welcomes the community service that Samm employs in order to get out of his shell that his disability has encased him.
And if Mt. Pleasant, God forbid, gets hit with a tornado, I would certainly hope they have ample warning. They would, if they'd allow one ham and his son to keep their tower.
Well it seems like ham operators, when they're NOT breaking the law, are apparently threats to national security here in the US. Even when they're not American!
Greg Roberts (ZS1BI) is a ham operator in South Africa. When he's not on the air, he's looking into the air. More specifically, into the night sky, chasing "birds", or satellites.
6 weeks ago NASA launched the super-secret X-37B space plane in cooperation with the Air Force. The launch was not announced ahead of time and the orbit of the space plane was kept quiet.
However, Greg and some other observers were able to determine it's orbit based on a chance encounter by one observer, and then reviewing past launches of top secret spacecraft and theorizing when the plane would pass over his location. Sure enough, he was able to not only confirm it's orbit, but he was able to determine it's altitude and orbital inclination, and published his calculated orbital elements online. Satellite observers around the world were able to confirm these predictions as the space plane circled over their locations.
Within days, publications around the world, from the New York Times and others all were agog over how an "amateur" (Greg is actually a retired professional astronomer) was able to accurately predict NASA's new toy.
Well apparently Sector 7 isn't too thrilled with Greg's "amateurish" antics. An article in the South African Times informs us that Greg is now labeled as a "threat to U.S. National Security".
I find it amazing how the US is so concerned with how an amateur from South Africa found the super-secret X-37B, yet they didn't seem too concerned that perhaps the Chinese, or North Koreans, or even our modern-day ally Russians might have found the satellite using the exact same methods employed by Greg, albeit more sophisticated (expensive).
And yet HE is the problem.
Perhaps the CIA and whatever other national security agencies should focus on real threats to US national security, and not worry about the petty observations of people like Greg who are just providing a service to people who might not get access to such information.
I mean, I am a taxpayer after all, so this is my space plane too, is it not?
Sunday morning, Steve Bozak (WB2IQU/HL9VX) took a drive to Troy. On the way, he talked to his buddies using his ham radio. But he didn't expect to talk to a police officer next.
Bozak said, "He assured me that I was not to be talking on that cell phone. I said this isn't a cell phone. It's an amateur radio. He said it's all the same."
Bozak was issued [a] ticket for talking on a mobile device while driving.
So it appears that law enforcement is targeting ham operators (and possibly CBers) who hold a handheld radio to their ear in order to hear what's being said.
I suppose the lesson here is to use a mobile with a very loud speaker, or whip it over to the curb every time you want to key the mic.
Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of talking while driving (I can't recall how many times I've nearly been hit by someone distracted on their phone) but I have never had any problems while using a mobile or HT in my vehicle.
Bozak faces a $100 fine and plans to not only contest the ticket but seek an amendment to the state law to exempt ham operators from the statute.
It seems that ham operators' run-ins with the law must come in waves, as yet ANOTHER ham is in trouble with police.
Although not as severe as Irene Levy (KJ6CEY) acted in California, this one is just as much a black eye on ham radio as her case is.
Authorities say that Keith Mutch (KB1RBI, pictured right) of Norwich, CT used a ham radio to report over the nearby Wal-Mart radio frequency that a man with a gun was outside the store threatening to shoot people, sending police into action.
Although there are no specific details, authorities were somehow able to determine that Mutch was responsible after Wal-mart employees advised none of their employees made the transmission.
Besides making a false report, he was also charged with reckless endangerment and breach of peace. He's currently held on $5000 bond awaiting a hearing on Tuesday, June 1.
I get all sorts of interesting emails from the sons of Nigerian royalty (at least one a day), but this one really made me laugh:
The Desk Of, Mr. Samuel Morse Fund Manager, Fidelity International, UK . +44 7045703892
I feel quite safe dealing with you in this important business. Though,
this medium (Internet) has been greatly abused, I choose to reach you
through it because it still remains the fastest medium of communication.
Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal ethics. I knew that this mail will come to you as a surprise, but please do not be discouraged with my proposal, it was due to how things are moving with me, and then I decided to write to you when I saw your contact information in a directory.
However, this correspondence is unofficial and private, and it should be treated as such. At first I will like to assure you that this transaction is 100% risk and trouble free to both parties.
My name is Mr. Samuel Morse, a Fund Manager with Fidelity Investment, UK. I handle all our Investors Capital Project Funds which enabled me to divert 1.2% of Investors Excess Return Capital Funds to our Magellan Trust Funds Account where anyone can be presented to claim the funds.
Total sum of Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Five Thousand British Pounds (15.745.000) GBP has been diverted, representing 1.2% of Excess Return Capital Funds from the Investor Capital Project Funds for 2006/2007 fiscal year.
I need a reliable and trustworthy person with whom I can work this deal out so that we can claim the funds as mentioned above.
There is no risk attached and the funds in question can never be dictated or traced.
Sincerely, Mr. Samuel Morse
I would've thought I'd have received it as follows:
Up until now I thought the funniest one was of the Nigerian astronaut stuck up in space for 14 years (who knew?) but this ranks a close 2nd.
And to think, all this time I thought Morse was a painter and an inventor, not an accountant...I even thought he was dead, but I see it's on the internet so it must be true...
And just to be sure, the letter I received is often referred to as a "419 scam", named because of the Nigerian penal code dealing with such fraud.
Unfortunately the Nigerian government doesn't look at these types of issues with utmost priority, and Nigeria's reputation as a corrupt country is only exacerbated by these rampant emails by organized crime bosses or even corrupt politicians.
What's even more ridiculous is that there are people who actually buy into these scams, thinking they've been chosen by fate out of millions of others out there to help facilitate the laundering of money in exchange for a fee.
There's some who get conned into thinking they've won the Canadian lottery and can get their winnings expedited through customs for "modest fees" of thousands of dollars. How could you have won when you didn't even enter?
It just goes to show that if it's too good to be true...
Hot on the heels of the arrest of K8JSM in Asheville after airport police misinterpreted his communications mobile as a terrorist threat to the public, another ham operator in California is now in trouble with the law, and this one is more deliberate.
This past Monday, San Jacinto, California police arrested Irene Marie Levy, KJ6CEY, after she allegedly was maliciously interfering with Police and Fire officials over 30 hours last weekend. Transmissions included references to officers and firemen killed in the line of duty, interruption of calls to fires and car accidents, and at least one bomb threat.
She allegedly began making the transmissions last Saturday evening, and they continued until moments before law enforcement officers knocked on the door to her mobile home after authorities DF'ed the transmissions and triangulated to her position.
Levy was booked on suspicion of making terrorist threats; false report of a bomb threat; and maliciously interrupting, disrupting, impeding, or interfering with the transmission of a public safety radio frequency. She is held on a $50,000 bond.
Investigators seized 11 radio transmitters, seven radio frequency scanners, radio frequency lists, computer equipment and other miscellaneous radio equipment.
Scanning the message forums on QRZ, she met her husbandMichael (KE6ALV) online through a scanner club where both were active members.
Before her page on QRZ was removed, she mentioned she was a "CBer at heart" and had some derogatory words for some of the local authorities she said she monitored on her scanner. She's only been licensed as a ham since last September.
A couple of questions came to mind about this whole incident. One, where was her husband during this 30-hour marathon of RFI? And two, what medication was she not taking (or worse, WAS taking) in order to go into such a tirade of taunting and harassment?
Unlike Sean McVey in Asheville, her actions were deliberate, intentional, and worse, could have delayed authorities from responding to some of the life-threatening calls she interrupted during the incident.
I'm not sure why she felt the need to vilify law enforcement officials or why she felt she was not going to get caught (she attempted to disguise her voice as a male), but the darker cloud to all this is the fact she is a ham radio operator, and that this fact was very evident in these news articles.
Not one mention of her being involved in CB or scanner monitoring was published, only her amateur radio background. This could lead to a backlash against ham radio operators in California (and nationwide) as these brushes with law enforcement continue making the news.
Fortunately, Field Day is fast approaching, and the wave of publicity articles is already making the rounds in various newspapers across the country. Hopefully this will shed more positive light on ham radio now more than ever, and if I were to get those extra 100 bonus points, I'd be looking to my local newspaper and/or TV outlets ASAP to get the word out on the positives of ham radio.
I must admit at first I thought it was a case of some whacker trying to impersonate a police officer with his strobes flashing, brandishing a sidearm, wearing an earpiece and "talking into it", etc.
Then I began to read more and more about this person, and what was developing was more a case of overzealous law enforcement rather than an overzealous ham radio operator trying to impress anyone within sight, showing off that he was in emergency communications.
It also was another flagrant display by the media to quickly demonize and criminalize whomever might threaten President Obama without stepping back and fully assessing the entire situation with some form of objectivity. Even though there was nothing political about the situation, a quick rush has been made by some media to portray McVey as a right-wing extremist lunatic with fantasies of snipers and sadistic thoughts of extremist conservatism coursing through his twisted, sick, feeble mind...
Seriously, both McVey and the authorities at the airport are to blame, in my opinion, and here's why...
First, let's look at Sean. Honor student in school, bright kid, loves music, radios, and target shooting. Is this the profiling of a monster? If anything, he's a nerd. I should know, I was one. Still am.
So NOW it begins with the media. Demonize McVey as a right-wing extremist who probably is a member of some secret militia in the bible belt. More on that later.
So back to Sean. Yes, he can be over-the-top on wanting to help when help is not asked for. As I posted previously, I've dealt with folks like him in the past, wanting to be Dudley Do-right. They have the best of intentions, and their hearts are in the right place. But sometimes, instead of helping, they hinder the situation, or in some cases escalate it because law enforcement may not know what the person's intentions truly are, other than being a nuisance and getting in the way. To some degree, that's what's happened here.
If he had his strobes flashing, sidearm brandished, and was telling people to get back or was directing traffic, yeah, that could be cause for some concern with law enforcement. But if all he did was park his car, get out and watch Air Force One taxi, minding his own business, listening to the radio traffic on his scanner with an earpiece so as not to disturb others, then, other than having the sidearm, there's no serious cause for concern?
Regarding the sidearm, although I support the right to have a gun, and believe strongly in the 2nd amendment, even if it is legal what Sean did, showing up at an area where the President of the United States was (or is) is not what I consider the smartest move to make. That alone is probably what triggered the officers at the airport into action. Bad move on Sean's part.
And speaking of the police, I'll just go on record as saying, again my opinion, the police acted appropriately...to a point.
There was a time years ago when I was the ARES emergency coordinator for Knox County here in Tennessee. Big responsibility. I dealt with overreacting hams and those just waiting ever-so-impatiently for the next big emergency. Not unlike McVey, really. I've also dealt with law enforcement and government officials who didn't care for ham operators. One official whose name I won't mention (because I don't remember his name) thought they were the scourge of communications "experts" everywhere, and despite my reminding him I was a ham and trying to inform him the positives of recent events such as a tornado taking out all other reliable communications in one remote area of East Tennessee except for ham radio, he refused to be swayed otherwise. He let one bad encounter ruin it for the whole hobby in his mind, and I had better things to do than to persuade him otherwise.
The Airport Police stopped McVey and questioned him, but even though he was legally allowed to carry the weapon (both as a sidearm and concealed) they continued to pursue the issue and find some sort of excuse to make an example out of McVey. When they finally pulled said excuse out of some book they probably had to blow the dust off in order to open, that gave them Carte Blanche to rifle through his car under the guise of "probable cause". And lo, what do they find but formulas and calculations for bullet trajectories...clearly they have a dangerous man on their hands. Look again at that mugshot above...
I tend to think the arresting officers probably knew he was a ham and had it in their mind that, just like the county official I referenced, this kid was part of a hobby they detested, and felt they needed to make an example to all hams as to what would happen if any hams got in their way. Yeah, it's probably a bit much for a conspiracy theory, but considering what craziness has come from this whole situation so far, you never know, really.
The airport police claimed they ran his driver's license number through the database and it came back invalid. I find it deliciously odd that only after he was detained, booked, photographed, and charged, that they then magically found that they entered his information into the computer incorrectly...
So this charge of "going armed to the terror of the public", has anyone ever even heard of such a charge? Then, in order to make an example out of McVey, they set bond at $100,000? For a misdemeanor? Then they say that, even if he posted bond he might still remain in jail??? Is that even legal?
The airport police chief even said he did nothing wrong "individually"...
Taken individually, none of things McVey did was against the law, including carrying the gun, Airport Police Chief Jeff Augram said. It was the combination of McVey’s behavior and the things he had that drew the charge, Augram said.
So if I understand correctly, he didn't do anything wrong, but because of his behavior and his ham radios and scanners, he got arrested?
I'm so seriously tempted to head over the mountain 90 miles away to the Asheville Regional Airport/Hair Care/Tire Change & 30-min Lube/Discount Cigarette Outlet/Fireworks Warehouse (tm) and take my handheld Yaesu FT-530, Radio Shack scanner, a listing of frequencies for the airport, a bottle of water over 16oz, and a picket sign that states:
I AM A HAM RADIO OPERATOR, SUPPORTER OF THE 2ND AMENDMENT, AND A SCANNER ENTHUSIAST. THAT MAKES ME A TERROR THREAT TO THE PUBLIC
and just stand there in front of the Airport's Police Station/Mobile Home. Wonder what will happen...hmmm...maybe individually, with the radios, the sign, and the water, I'm in the clear, but put them together...
I myself probably did more research than the media in finding out about who McVey really was. Why was he in North Carolina? His mom lives there. He even posted this fact online last year. Only now is the media catching on. Why did he have all these radios? He's a ham. Looking at his Ohio license plate would have answered that question immediately. Why did he have a gun? He was licensed to.
Almost immediately the media were trying to put this kid in the electric chair without so much as a peep of fact, just innuendo. After all, here was some lunatic from out of town with rifle formulas, police scanners, and carrying a gun wanting to see the President...
Only after the media starts doing their JOB does the truth come to light. He's just a harmless kid with a fascination for radios who wanted to see Air Force One.
In the end, I think that McVey will not serve any more time other than what he served after being arrested. He'll probably get a lecture from the judge but nothing more...
If anything, McVey has a golden opportunity to sell his story to one of the news channels (probably Larry King Live) or a magazine publication. I'd love to talk to him for a TWIAR exclusive, but we can't afford what he'd probably be asking.
Still, I wonder two things: What effect it will have on McVey's civic-minded activities (will he continue to be an overzealous and anxious kid filled with piss and vinegar and wanting to save the world?) and what effect this whole incident will have on ham radio.
God forbid this incident inspires the feds into trying to micromanage ham radio more than they already do, or even worse levy restrictions on civil agencies like RACES, ARES, and SKYWARN. Hopefully the Obama administration won't launch their media dogs into a smear campaign of ham radio, either. The last thing amateur radio needs to be is a foul talking point on the news channels.
