(KMOV)- A St. Louis man who was jailed and charged with making a threat about a shoe bomb was released Tuesday. Michael Shafermeyer, 30, was arrested Saturday boarding a flight at Lambert Airport Saturday. After spending 3 ½ days in jail, he spoke with News 4 to give his side of the story. Shafermeyer said he was flying to Maryland to get married and because he was anxious about the wedding and nervous about flying, he had a few drinks before getting to the airport.
His friends describe him as a guy with a non-stop, quirky sense of humor. When a flight attendant asked him to close his laptop after boarding, Shafermeyer says he was just trying to make a joke when he asked her, “Are you the one who checks for shoe bombs?” He said within minutes federal agents whisked him off the plane and he spent the next 2 ½ days in solitary confinement at the St. Louis County Jail. The final day in jail, he was put in general holding with 20-30 other people, who he said stood and gave him a standing ovation when he first walked into the room. Shafermeyer said he’s charged with making a false bomb report. He still plans to go to Maryland to get married, but will take the train to get there.
WARNING: Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Flight Attendant!
Traveling is supposed to be a grim experience. How dare he have a sense of humor! My advise, keep your trap closed, avoid eye contact and look stupid.
Osama bin Laden victories continue. This country really needs to realize that these fake measures aren’t protecting them from anything. If someone want’s you bad enough, and are willing and able to pay the price, you’re dead. Damn people lets grow some and move on.
Well, its 3 votes against you McCullough. Just rethink the issue: does this episode show anyone using critical thinking skills, or just knee jerk reactions.
3.5 days in jail. If they can’t tell a joke from a drunk groom to be—-how the F&CK do you think we are doing against any real threat?
If we take him at his word that his comment above was the only thing he said, then his arrest is b.s. I’ve been a cop a long time and that comment doesn’t constitute a threat of any kind and I have a hard time believing that it would fly in court. I base this on experience in state and federal court. This looks like a case of a flight attendant going “zero tolerance” on the guy like principals do in public schools now days. Taking the easy way out instead of just doing the job.
They didn’t taser him?
#3. Votes against me???…un-unh, I take no sides, make no judgments…I report, You decide, Fair and Balanced, yada yada.
Land of the free
#6–McCullough==I apologize. I thought the “We Approve” was part of your added content.
Well, since its not you==who is that shortsighted, always going for the short joke, person? Who is it that approves of the terrorists winning?
Who is it?????????
Could it be – – – – – SATAN??? ((Or only its earthbound representative, the Office of Homeland Security?))
Does he get his TICKET MONEY BACK??
#3 – Bobbo
>>Well, its 3 votes against you McCullough.
Christ, you’re a combative little bantam, aren’t you?
>>Just rethink the issue: does this episode
>>show anyone using critical thinking skills,
>>or just knee jerk reactions.
I must have missed the balloting where McC cast his vote in favor or the incarcerators.
I’m failing to see the threat located in “Are you the one who checks for shoe bombs?”
#10–Mustard==I’m not combative. I’m as peaceful and refreshing as pesticide free water==passively getting sucked into holes below my level.
When you fly leave all gun bomb and Arab humour at home.He is an idiot.
#13 I agree with you despite the ridiculous state of affairs we have today in air travel.
When flying, an iPOD and sleeping pills are your friend and stay to yourself.
Best not to smile, growl, yell or speak. Assume you are living the movie “Midnight Express”.
Considering the town, I guess that he was put in jail for being an asshole… not for the attempt at a joke.
Also, the spam filter keeps blocking the most interesting poster here. Fix it.
#8. “#6–McCullough==I apologize. I thought the “We Approve” was part of your added content.”
It’s not my picture, I may be homely, but that guy is FUGLY.
There have been signs at airports warning that making comments about bombs was against the law since at least the late 70’s.
It was stupid to do it prior to 9/11 afterwords I think we would be better off if the guy was just removed from the gene pool.
Do we know what airline this is so we can avoid it (just like the one that threw out that pakistani family a few posts back)?
Oh snap. If being a wise-ass gets you 3 1/2 days in jail, I’m going to get consecutive life sentences.
Good idea GigG. Put a bullet in this guys head for that remark.
And after that, go F yourself.
He’s luck he wasn’t on the London underground. They would have just shot him on the spot.
Perhaps a new legal category for people like Mr Shafermeyer should be created: JUI – joking whilst under the influence.
The flight attendant didn’t have a choice. If another passenger overheard the comment and told someone that she didn’t do anything about it, she could have lost her job.
“Shafermeyer said he’s charged with making a false bomb report.”
The story makes no mention that there was a bomb report…
#24. And your surprised because?
I had a friend who claims he was nearly evicted from a plane after mentioning that some movie or another was “a bomb.” My friend tends to exaggerate but it sounds believable.
Maybe, at the secur4ity check point, right next to the graphic showing us what sorts of things we are not allowed to carry on to the plane, they could post a list of words we are not allowed to say.
If he is accurate in what he claims he said, there is no way the man’s joking/sarcastic question could be construed as a threat.
What part of “NEVER TALK OR, JOKE ABOUT BOMBS ON A PLANE” didn’t he understand? He earned the lock-up and the lesson, don’t travel drunk and trying to be funny.
#29, Sinn Fein,
What part of “NEVER TALK OR, JOKE ABOUT BOMBS ON A PLANE” didn’t he understand?
The part where the 1st Amendment says Congress shall make no law restricting the freedom of speech. While it is understood that threats and slander are beyond the 1st Amendment, there was no threat, express or implied, here.
OR, as someone else wrote, the terrorists have won.