A JetBlue passenger celebrating his birthday got an all-expenses paid trip to jail after making a “bomb” joke on his transcon flight to San Francisco.
On February 17th, birthday boy Mack Bjorn of Reno, Nevada, boarded his flight from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco when he “joked that (the) TSA had missed a bomb in his bag”. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrest report noted that a witness, on hearing the comment, reported it to one of the flight attendants.
When the flight attendant asked him about the comment, Bjorn doubled down, saying once again that the TSA missed the bomb in his bag. The report goes on to state that he was escorted off the aircraft and arrested. A thorough search of the aircraft resulted in no bombs being found, and the flight continued on to San Francisco with one less passenger.
Charged for making a false bomb threat
After choosing to take legal counsel, Bjorn was later charged with a second degree felony under Florida Statute 790.164 for making a “false report concerning planting a bomb, explosive, or weapon of mass destruction”.
On February 20th, he entered a written not guilty plea, with records showing that he was no longer listed as being held at the Sheriff’s Office.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Bjorn’s lawyer George Reres stated that his client “is a good person and a newlywed having just returned from a cruise” who has “no prior criminal record.”
“We acknowledge the severity of the charges under Florida Statute 790.164 against my client and emphasize our commitment to a fair legal process.
“My client regrets the incident, which allegedly stemmed from a joke with no intent to cause fear or harm. We stress that there was no plan to act on the statement, highlighting a moment of very poor judgment rather than malice.”
The internet reacts
Online commenters were not too kind, saying thing like:
“Hope they give him the highest sentence.”
“He blew it”
“That’s probably among one of the stupidest and fastest ways to get on a “no-fly list”. His birthday gift to himself was an all-expense paid trip to jail.”
“he overcommitted to the bit”
There were also a few who felt otherwise, saying police and court resources could be put towards something more useful. While this is true, a simple joke like that does come at the inconvenience to all those on board as a result of their flight have to be delayed for the search. Airlines unfortunately can’t takes these matters lightly, and each threat has to be investigated, regardless of how much of a joke it might be.
[Featured Photo: Tomás Del Coro/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)]
