The man believed to have slipped into a secured area of Newark Airport January 3 in New York, Haisong Jiang, has been arrested, after embarrassing TSA Agents or Agency itself. For now, Jiang is suffering no Federal charges, but a $500 fine.
It's an inexpensive price for PR, the Newark security breach story and Jiang's later arrest being used extensively throughout the news by Senator Lautenberg. Lautenberg seems to extend a harsh 'warning' message to passengers, though it seems more on par as a message to intended terrorist acts.
Jiang's arrest and what seems a possible misjudgment in eagerness to visit his girlfriend arriving from a Continental Airlines arriving flight, is receiving repeated news exposure. In particular, Senator Lautenberg has made statements that flash his mug and increasingly frequent statemetns flash across virtually every tv news station. Lautenberg's 'message' seem to be on a level aimed at potential terrorist-level threats, rather than what appears to be Jiang's questionable judgment in meeting a loved one, including Lautenberg's stern warning that "if you breach security, you're gonna pay the price."
The Newark security guard has been on administrative leave since the security breach incident and the guard apparently faces disciplinary action, according to TSA. The work union representing the guard claims that the guard has “been rated a model employee.”
Haisong Jiang, 28, was taken into custody by law enforcement at 7:30 p.m. at his home in Piscataway, New Jersey, according to Port Authority reps. Port Authority says Jiang would be charged with "Defiant Trespass," with Jiang held at the Port Authority’s administration building located within Newark Airport property. Jiang is not being charged with "Embarassing TSA," a seemingly more accurate description of the Newark Airport event. Unfortunately for Jiang, TSA's appearance (or TSA Agency ridicule) throughout the news has probably not helped him.
Jiang's arrest followed one day after a video showing security footage of the incident was released by Senator Lautenberg. Oddly enough, it was first reported that no video footage existed. Funny how video always seems to arise at just the right moment, if sought for prosecution.
That must have taken a mighty good amount of law enforcement indeed, to locate a man simply based on raw video footage. The Newark video shows a man in a light-colored jacket standing near where arriving passengers exit a secured portion of Newark Airport. Following a Newark security guard stepping away from his post, that previously-unidentified man embraces a woman and slips across the rope into the secured part of the terminal. In the [assumed] non-criminal part of the act, the pair walk away together.
As Airport TSA searched for the man Sunday, the shutdown of the C Terminal at Newark Airport stranded thousands, causing delayes continuing into the next day. Apparently all, or the bulk of, those airport delays are being put on Jiang and TSA's inability to locate the man on video seems to hold no responsibility in the New York shutdown.