Student Wears Fake Bomb to Airport

Education is wasted on some people. Like the Aussie comedians and the stupid Cartoon Network stunt in Boston, this is just further proof that the left doesn't take this issue seriously.

An MIT student wearing what turned out to be a fake bomb was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork and that she was there to meet her boyfriend, officials said.

Star Simpson, 19, had a white computer circuit board and wiring over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.

"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."

Simpson was charged with possessing a hoax device. A not guilty plea was entered at her arraignment in East Boston District Court and she was released on $750 bail.

She could face up to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine, if convicted.

"I'm shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type of device to an airport," Pare said.

Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used," Pare said. "She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."

Simpson is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore from Hawaii.

The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, Pare said. Simpson also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.

The phrases "Socket to me" and "Course VI" were written on the back of her sweat shirt, which authorities displayed to the media. Course VI appears to be a reference to MIT's major of electrical engineering and computer science.

During the hearing, Simpson smiled as she entered wearing a T-shirt and sandals. Prosecutor Wayne Margolis had requested $5,000 bail, saying Simpson showed "a total disregard to understand the context of the situation she is in, which is an airport of post-9/11."

Ross Schreiber, a public defender appointed to represent Simpson, said his client was not a risk to flee if released, and was a good student with no prior convictions. Simpson cooperated with authorities and had gone to the airport to meet her boyfriend," he said.

"She was there for legitimate purposes," he said.

A man who identified himself as Simpson's boyfriend attended the hearing, but declined to answer questions about the airport incident.

After posting bail, Simpson initially stepped out of the courthouse, saw reporters and returned to the building. Later, she left with her boyfriend into a waiting taxi, ignoring reporters' questions.

Simpson was a member of MIT's swimming and diving team in 2006, according to the team's Web site, which lists her hometown as Kihei, Hawaii.

MIT spokeswoman Greg Frost released a brief statement Friday afternoon.

"MIT is cooperating fully with the State Police in the investigation of an incident at Logan Airport this morning involving Star Simpson, a sophomore at MIT. As reported to us by authorities, Ms. Simpson's actions were reckless and understandably created alarm at the airport."

She was arrested about 8 a.m. outside Terminal C, home to United Airlines, Jet Blue and other carriers.

A Massachusetts Port Authority staffer manning an information booth in the terminal became suspicious when Simpson -- wearing the device -- approached to ask about an incoming flight, Pare said. She did not respond when the employee asked her about the device she was wearing, so the employee repeated the question, police said.

Simpson then said the device was artwork and left the counter and walked around the terminal area, causing some employees to leave the building in fear, police said.

Simpson then walked outside, and the information booth attendant notified a nearby trooper.

The trooper, joined by others with submachine guns, confronted her at a traffic island in front of the terminal.

"She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device," Pare said. "Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force."

Pare said Simpson took a subway to the airport, but he was not sure if she had the device on at that time.

She told authorities she was at the airport to greet her boyfriend arriving on a flight from Oakland. Authorities verified information as to the name of the passenger she was greeting, and said he had already left the airport.

"She did seem a bit upset that she was in custody. However, she was rational, and she did answer all questions as required," Pare said.

Pare, of the state police, praised the booth attendant but said the incident is a reminder of the terrorism threat confronting the civil aviation system. Two of the four passenger jets hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, took off from Logan.

"In this day and age, the threat continues to be there," said Pare. "She certainly jeopardized her own safety by bringing this to the airport, as well as the safety of everybody around her."

The city was the focus of a major security scare Jan. 31 when dozens of battery-powered devices were discovered in various locations. Bomb squads were deployed, and highways, bridges and some transit stations were temporarily closed. They turned out to be a promotion for cable TV's Cartoon Network.

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