I didn’t know Liberator was into kobudo…
CHICAGO (AP) - An airline passenger accused of pulling a martial-arts weapon
from a violin case and pacing the aisles with it during a flight was charged
with aggravated battery and resisting arrest Friday.
Police said Nathaniel Basa, 34, of Chicago, had boarded the Southwest
Airlines plane in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday with a nunchaku, two pieces
of wood connected by a short chain.
When he started pacing with the weapon, a flight attendant told him to sit
down and alerted the pilot, who radioed ahead to authorities. He was taken
into custody at Chicago’s Midway Airport.
“Officers were waiting for him at the gate, but the passenger tried to bolt
after encountering the pilot at the jetway,” police spokesman Pat Camden
said. “He was acting strangely and started resisting.”
Basa also was charged with boarding an aircraft with a weapon. An Oct. 30
court date was set, police spokesman Officer Matthew Jackson said.
The man’s father said in Friday’s Chicago Sun-Times that his son is a
classical violinist who suffers from manic depression and may not have been
taking his medication.
The arrest follows the discovery of box cutters and other banned items
hidden in the bathrooms of two Southwest planes. A college student who said
he was trying to expose weaknesses in security was charged with a federal
crime Monday.