Here's a picture of the sweatshirt that Simpson was wearing, including the "suspected explosive device." (Source: CNN.com)
A valuable lesson can be learned here -- don't wear electronics to airports unless you want to be jailed
Think your Friday was bad? Well, you should listen to the story of 19 year-old MIT student Star Simpson's eventful Friday at the Logan Airport.
Star Simpson was arrested by police who mistook a piece of tech-art for an improvised explosive device.
Simpson entered the airport wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a light beige circuit board mounted to the front. The circuit board featured wires, green leds, and a battery. Friends of Simpson say the shirt was a homemade tech-art statement and that she frequently wore the shirt. According to Simpson's friends, she was headed to the airport to pick up a friend before 8 a.m..
Another one of her friends adds:
MIT students don't really do mornings, or worry about what they're
wearing, so I can't imagine she'd even think about her clothes before
heading out to pick up a friend at the airport before 8am."
Well someone else certainly became very worried about what she was wearing. Simpson approached an airport employee and inquired about the 8:00 a.m. incoming flight from Oakland. At the time she was also holding a putty-like substance that was later determined to be playdough. When the employee asked about the device on her shirt, she responded that it was art and walked away.
Outside the terminal she was surrounded by police holding machine guns. They told her to stop, raise her hands, and make no movements, so they could see if she was "trying to trigger the device". Simpson obeyed the orders and was subsequently arrested. Police quickly realized that the device she had been wearing was entirely harmless.
Simpson was charged with possessing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. She was arraigned at the East Boston Municipal Court. She was later released on $750 cash bail and
ordered to return to court October 29.
Major Scott Pare of the state police felt that Simpson was lucky that the police had not used deadly force. He had this to say of the incident:
"Thankfully because she followed our instructions, she ended up in
our cell instead of a morgue," Pare said. "Again, this is a serious
offense ... I’m shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type
of device to an airport."
Simpson lists the following self-description on her website -- the website seems to be either down or to have too much traffic:
"In a sentence, I'm an inventor, artist, engineer, and student, I love to build things and I love crazy ideas."
According to police, Simpson never did fully explain why she had brought the playdough to the airport.
The incident is a warning to those who might wear LED shirts or other blinking electronic devices into the airport--you will likely get arrested at gunpoint. For now, Simpson is likely wishing all the unwanted legal attention will blow over, so she can get back to what she does best ... inventing.
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