A civilian holding a lit flare tried to board a Marine Corps helicopter last week while the aircraft was sitting on a Camp Pendleton landing pad with a crew inside and its rotors running, according to federal prosecutors in San Diego.

The incident last Thursday night marked the fourth time since 2022 that the 58-year-old man has allegedly trespassed on Camp Pendleton, according to court documents in the case. Though the man was never charged with a crime for the first three intrusions, he is now facing a misdemeanor charge of trespassing on a military installation.

Related Articles

After his arrest, the man allegedly told authorities that “the State Department sent ‘radio waves’ to his head, telling him to light a flare and board the aircraft,” according to a probable cause statement wr

See Full Page