Nominations are unnecessary. By unanimous consent, Michael S. Lasseter is Idiot of the Year for 2001.
Lasseter, a bank executive from Gainesville, Ga., breached security checkpoints at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International—the world’s busiest airport-- on Nov. 16, allegedly to retrieve his misplaced camera bag.
Ignoring shouts of airport guards, Lasseter ran down an up escalator to avoid having to repeat lengthy security procedures.
His stupidity led to the airport’s shutdown of flights for four hours, massive searches and the evacuations of some 10,000 Atlanta passengers from airplanes and terminal concourses.
It also caused nationwide snarling of air traffic and the stranding of tens of thousands of other passengers for much of the day. Stocks even fell on Wall Street during the security alert.
When Lasseter and other passengers eventually returned to their gates, security personnel matched him to surveillance videotapes and arrested him for “disorderly conduct.”
Lasseter bailed out of the Clayton County jail on Nov. 17 after posting a $11.500 bond. He faces a maximum fine of $1,000 and 12 months in jail and will not be arraigned until December or January.
United States attorneys declined to press charges against Lasseter, saying he did not violate any federal laws. They are runnersup for 2001 Idiot of the Year. (25 NOVEMBER 2001)
