We reported last October that Nathaniel Heatwole was arrested for an act of civil disobedience which embarrased the TSA and cost the airlines a pretty penny. Though his actions were ill-advised, he did expose the terrible state of airline security, even more than two years after 9/11.
The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey E. Eisenberg, described Heatwole's extensive cooperation with investigators and said: "It is probably helpful in some sense -- although we do not recommend the method -- that someone knows there is a deficiency in the system."Would anyone like to address the efficacy of "the force of reason" with the current administration?
Before he imposed sentence, [U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul W.] Grimm told Heatwole: "It is without question that your intent was positive and good." He said Heatwole's parents, though no doubt anguished by their son's arrest, "likely were proud of the courage you displayed for your convictions."
Grimm told Heatwole, a senior at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., majoring in physics and political science, that "the way to effect change is to persuade with the force of reason."
