Arrest near Air Force One downplayed
Armed 23-year-old arrived at N.C. airport just after president left
NBC, msnbc.com and news services
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Official concern is very low over the Ohio man who was charged after authorities spotted him with a gun in a North Carolina airport parking lot as Air Force One was departing Sunday.
Authorities arrested Joseph Sean McVey, 23, at the Asheville Regional Airport and charged him with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith said.
Based on the airport police report, it appears that McVey pulled into the rental car parking lot about a minute after the president's plane left. His appearance provoked curiosity, because his car was loaded with police scanners and antennas. He had flashing police-style lights and a siren. And he was carrying a sidearm.
However, officials say he had a license to carry the gun and was apparently the kind of person who likes to hang around cops and help out, in parades with crowd control, for example.
This morning, one official familiar with the investigation says McVey heard the president's plane was at the airport and wanted to see it take off.
McVey has been charged with a misdemeanor, common law public nuisance violation, but there's nothing to indicate that it's going to go much further. He is to appear in court on Monday.
Security was heightened at the airport because President Barack Obama was leaving after spending the weekend vacationing in Asheville. He was headed to a memorial service for 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion.
Interest in law enforcement
McVey gave authorities an Ohio driver's license, but a computer check failed to show the number was valid, police said. His hometown of Coshocton is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.
In his profile on the law enforcement community website policelink.monster.com, McVey wrote that he "plans to become a police officer of some sort."
He listed hobbies such as shooting, fishing, hunting, piano, trumpet and voice.
McVey graduated from West Liberty University in West Virginia and, according to his MySpace profile, he majored in music technology, the local Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper reported.
The newspaper surveyed a number of different social networking sites and blogs of which McVey is a participant, and reported that he marked as favorite on his YouTube account a video that allegedly shows U.S. soldiers accidentally killing civilians in Iraq.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that none of the websites examined by the paper include any mention of the president.
When Officer Kaleb Rice asked him what he was doing at the Asheville Regional Airport parking lot on Sunday, McVey told him he heard the president was in town and wanted to see him.
Rice removed the firearm and took McVey into custody.
The investigation into what McVey was doing with a gun, with formulas for rifle scopes and why his car was equipped with police gear was continuing, Smith said. The Secret Service had no comment on the arrest, deferring to airport police.
A jail officer said it didn't appear McVey had an attorney.
NBC's Pete Williams and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Armed 23-year-old arrived at N.C. airport just after president left
NBC, msnbc.com and news services
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Official concern is very low over the Ohio man who was charged after authorities spotted him with a gun in a North Carolina airport parking lot as Air Force One was departing Sunday.
Authorities arrested Joseph Sean McVey, 23, at the Asheville Regional Airport and charged him with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith said.
Based on the airport police report, it appears that McVey pulled into the rental car parking lot about a minute after the president's plane left. His appearance provoked curiosity, because his car was loaded with police scanners and antennas. He had flashing police-style lights and a siren. And he was carrying a sidearm.
However, officials say he had a license to carry the gun and was apparently the kind of person who likes to hang around cops and help out, in parades with crowd control, for example.
This morning, one official familiar with the investigation says McVey heard the president's plane was at the airport and wanted to see it take off.
McVey has been charged with a misdemeanor, common law public nuisance violation, but there's nothing to indicate that it's going to go much further. He is to appear in court on Monday.
Security was heightened at the airport because President Barack Obama was leaving after spending the weekend vacationing in Asheville. He was headed to a memorial service for 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion.
Interest in law enforcement
McVey gave authorities an Ohio driver's license, but a computer check failed to show the number was valid, police said. His hometown of Coshocton is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.
In his profile on the law enforcement community website policelink.monster.com, McVey wrote that he "plans to become a police officer of some sort."
He listed hobbies such as shooting, fishing, hunting, piano, trumpet and voice.
McVey graduated from West Liberty University in West Virginia and, according to his MySpace profile, he majored in music technology, the local Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper reported.
The newspaper surveyed a number of different social networking sites and blogs of which McVey is a participant, and reported that he marked as favorite on his YouTube account a video that allegedly shows U.S. soldiers accidentally killing civilians in Iraq.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that none of the websites examined by the paper include any mention of the president.
When Officer Kaleb Rice asked him what he was doing at the Asheville Regional Airport parking lot on Sunday, McVey told him he heard the president was in town and wanted to see him.
Rice removed the firearm and took McVey into custody.
The investigation into what McVey was doing with a gun, with formulas for rifle scopes and why his car was equipped with police gear was continuing, Smith said. The Secret Service had no comment on the arrest, deferring to airport police.
A jail officer said it didn't appear McVey had an attorney.
NBC's Pete Williams and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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© 2010 MSNBC.com
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