An unfortunate drug smuggler in a plane filled with marijuana was intercepted by F-16s and later arrested after he wandered into President Obama's airspace on Thursday. The president was in Southern California on a fundraising tour when he traveled from Orange County to Los Angeles on-board the presidential helicopter, Marine One. According to The Los Angeles Times, The single-engine Cessna entered the eight-mile restricted airspace buffer around Marine One and did not respond when contacted by air traffic controllers, prompting the scrambling of military jets. After landing at Long Beach Airport, the plane was approached by federal agents intending to question the pilot, when it was discovered that the plane was carrying about 40 pounds of marijuana, presumably being smuggled from south of the border. The pilot was arrested and turned over to local law enforcement, who refused to comment on the investigation. The Secret Service would not say how close the plane got to the president, but they did say he was never in any danger.

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Dashiell Bennett