MIT student walks into airport wearing circuit board and wires

What's the worst that can happen?

By Austin Modine in Mountain View • Get more from this author

Posted in Law, 21st September 2007 23:02 GMT

Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines

An MIT student was arrested at gunpoint today at Boston's Logan International Airport after she entered the building wearing a black hoodie with a computer circuit board and wiring attached.

Star Simpson, 19, claimed she was just at the airport to pick up her boyfriend, and was charged with possessing a hoax bomb device.

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

Simpson, who is a sophomore in electrical engineering at MIT, wore a circuit board with nine lights over a hoodie and was inexplicably grasping a hand full of Play-Doh. When she entered the airport at approximately 8:40 a.m., officials said, she asked an airline employee where she could meet a plane from Oakland. The employee contacted the police — who promptly gave her directions to the floor.

"Thankfully, because she followed instructions as required, she ended up in a cell as opposed to the morgue," Pare said. "Had she not followed the instructions, deadly force may have been used."

Simpson entered a not guilty plea at her arraignment in East Boston District Court and was released on $750 bail. She could face up to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine if convicted.

The back of the hoodie in question reads "Socket To Me / COURSE VI." This refers to her major in Electrical engineering and computer science at MIT.

ABC News has a picture of Simpson and her hoodie, which you can view here.

If Boston can be terrorized by Lite-Brite Mooninites, chances are walking into the airport with circuitry attached isn't a good idea. ®

Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines