...Mother of 3 Arrested for Taking Pictures of Tourist Attraction at Airport

[bossy22]

This case is a frightening example of what can happen when a photographer encounters ignorant bullies with badges. According to the complaint filed in Federal Court, Nancy Genovese, a mother of three, was driving home on County Road 31 past Gabreski Airport in Suffolk County. Gabreski Airport displays a decorative helicopter shell by the roadway to the public, which is visible to all who pass by.

Nancy Genovese stopped her car on the side of the road across the street from the airport in an area that is open and accessible to the public, and crossed over the road to the airport entryway that is also open and accessible to the public to take a picture of the helicopter display. While still in her car, she took a picture of the decorative helicopter shell with the intention of posting it on her personal “Support Our Troops” web page.

http://www.longislandlawyerblog.com/mother-of-3-arrested-for-taking-pictures-of-tourist-attraction-at-airport
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

if you read further you will see that she was taunted for having a gun n her car as well

[Euromutt]

1. I came across this story, and it's exceedingly fishy

It's worth reading some of the discussion on Reddit about this: http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/fnedw/mother_of_three_arrested_for_taking_pictures_of/

There are just too many details in the story that don't ring true.

[X_Digger]

6. And, notice. not her first run-in..

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/08/02/760870/-Glenn-Beck-Fan,-Highly-Armed,-Busted-For-Casing-National-Guard-Base,-Thinking-It-Was-A-FEMA-Camp-

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. I'm not buying it. Sounds too much like a teabagger rant to me.

I am probably the furthest thing from pro cop but there has to be more to this story. She had $13,000 in cash with her to bot. This doesn't pass my smell test.

"A Quogue woman was arrested Thursday night after Air National Guard Officials called the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office to report a woman taking pictures of both the air base and surrounding airport property. Upon arriving at the scene, Deputy Sheriffs discovered an XM-15 assault rifle and a shot gun along with a cache of ammunition in the woman’s vehicle."

"Upon arriving at the scene, Deputy Sheriff Robert Carlock was told by Air Base Officials that Genovese had been warned in recent weeks to stay off the Air Base property, prompting Deputy Carlock to make the subsequent arrest."

http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/departments/sheriff/GabreskiAirportTrespassArrest.aspx

[Euromutt]

15. As stated, the $13K was her kids' tuition fees

It's unusual, I grant you, but a fair number of winger loons (a fair enough assessment of the lady, IMO) are paranoid about leaving electronic paper trails by using credit cards, ATM/debit cards etc. Also, one guy on the Reddit discussion I linked to said he used to pay his tuition in cash because the cashier's office had a "cash only" window that never had a line.

[hlthe2b]

3. I'd be careful about making teabaggers like this a poster child

for gun rights... Read the other posts. This woman was very unlikely to have been some innocent mother of three just innocently snapping a photo to post on her website. Nor was she just the average gun owner with a handgun for protection in the car. She had a damned assault rifle and a cache of ammo... and a history of trespassing on the property despite warnings.

Despite her lawyer's spin.. there is more to the story.

[RSillsbee]

13. A damned assault rifle and a cache of ammo

No, she didn't have a "damned assualt rifle" she had a semi automatic look-a-like and as for a "cache of ammo" we're talking about the media here she may have only had 2 boxes.

That said, there is something funky about this story

[Angry Dragon]

4. That has to be an Onion article

[RSillsbee]

5. What does this have to do w/ guns? NT

[sharesunited]

8. The rifle in her vehicle. It escalated the suspicion of a nefarious motive or purpose.

Try as the NRA might, there is no way to convince the public that people carrying guns is normal.

[RSillsbee]

12. Ahhh I didn't catch that part

And , as usual, you're wrong

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. No doubt she is a whacked out winger. Beck on het TV, etc..

Another point not mentioned in the articles is that this happened in early august and VP Biden flew into that airport around the 11th of August. If the national guard was aware that he was coming and this nut, who they warned to stay away before, shows up taking pictures and with weapons in her car they could easily "overreact".

http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Westhampton/225871/Woman-says-trespassing-arrest-at-Air-National-Guard-base-was-misunderstanding

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. Photography from public locations is not a crime

Moreover it does not provide reasonable cause for search or arrest. She may or may not be several leaves short of a tea bag, it does not matter. With the limited information given by multiple sources, her rights were violated.

It also appears that the city and police defaulted by not meeting a required filing date in court and may be on the hook for the $70M they were being sued for.




Checkout www.carlosmiller.com for similar stories. They have already come for photographers.

[Bonhomme Richard]

10. She was warned and there were signs prohibiting photography.

She's a winger loon thinking it was a FEMA camp but I'll let the courts work it out.
Sec. 795. Photographing and sketching defense installations


(a) Whenever, in the interests of national defense, the President
defines certain vital military and naval installations or equipment
as requiring protection against the general dissemination of
information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any
photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical
representation of such vital military and naval installations or
equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding
officer of the military or naval post, camp, or station, or naval
vessels, military and naval aircraft, and any separate military or
naval command concerned, or higher authority, and promptly
submitting the product obtained to such commanding officer or
higher authority for censorship or such other action as he may deem
necessary.
(b) Whoever violates this section shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
http://law.onecle.com/uscode/18/795.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Unless the installation was so designated, that does not apply

More over, if it were, then it is a matter for the Feds, not local sheriffs to handle.

I really don't care is she is a loon, since the definition of who is a loon changes as needed by the powerful.

According to several sites the city has dropped all charges and has now defaulted on the civil suit. She most likely is getting paid, the only issue is how much.

[Euromutt]

14. The airfield in question is a civilian airport that also houses an ANG unit

Seems to me there can't be anything too sensitive going on, especially since the ANG unit is the 106th Rescue Wing (http://www.106rqw.ang.af.mil/); their job is Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR), i.e. recovering downed pilots, and regular SAR operations in peacetime. There's nothing hush-hush about it.

I won't disagree that the woman is a winger loon, but winger loons have rights too. Trouble is, she's not doing the legitimacy of her basic case any good by making up a bunch of incredible details.