23-year-old Joseph Sean McVey was arrested Sunday in the parking lot of the Asheville Regional airport after an airport police officer noticed he was carrying a firearm and said he wanted to meet President Obama, who had just flown out on Air Force One after a weekend vacation in North Carolina.
In addition to carrying a firearm, McVey aroused suspicion with a the car he was driving, which was equipped with police LED emergency lights in the front and rear as well as a siren mounted under the steering wheel. There were also four antennas mounted on the back trunk, which didn’t help matters much either. As it turns out, McVey is an avid Ham radio operator who also like to chase severe storms, which can pretty much explain away everything except toting a loaded firearm into an airport parking lot where President Barack Obama just was.
I found McVey’s youtube account where he has uploaded a handful of videos, including a television commercial (you can see that here) and shots of his Ham-mobile in action! Here are the flashing rear lights that drew suspicion from authorities in Asheville:
As mentioned in a previous post, McVey volunteered for a group called REACT in Coshocton, Ohio, who help the sheriff’s department with traffic control at emergency scenes, so there is a rational explanation for having the lights installed.
Here is video of joseph Sean McVey doing some storm chasing in Ohio, subjecting his Pontiac technowagon to some serious hail:
But Sean (he prefers his middle name) isn’t just a Ham-operating thrill seeker, he’s also an accomplished classical pianist! Here he is performing Suite de Danzas Criollas, Op. 15 (Movement IV) from a couple years ago:
(You can see McVey sitting beside his car talking to authorities in the parking lot of the airport just before his arrest HERE)
McVey has been charged with going armed in terror in public and is currently being held under a $100,000 secured bond for the misdemeanor charge. McVey may face up to 120 days in jail if convicted. It’s starting to sound like McVey is an innocent young man that just wasn’t thinking and the authorities are making sure they cover their tracks and not appear as though they over-reacted. Moral of the story: Never carry a loaded weapon to an airport with the intention of “meeting the President.”
