MIT student arrested for Logan scare

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore caused a brief scare at Logan International Airport on Friday morning when she walked into a terminal wearing what appeared to be an explosive device on her chest, though it turned out to be an alleged hoax.

Star Simpson, 19, had affixed a circuit board covered in LED lights and wires onto her sweatshirt, which read “Socket to me” on the back, and was also holding what looked like putty, later determined to be Play-Doh. Simpson said the outfit was a work of art.

Simpson was arrested just outside the doors of lower Terminal C and was arraigned in East Boston later in the day. Though the District Attorney had recommended $5,000 bail, the trial court judge accepted the $750 she posted in cash and released her and set a pre-trial hearing for Oct. 29.

Simpson was wearing the device and sweatshirt — which also said “Course IV,” describing her affiliation with her school’s science department — to stand out at an MIT career day event, said Maj. Scott Pare of the Massachusetts State Police at a press conference after the incident.

“I’m shocked and appalled that someone would wear this type of device to an airport,” Pare said.

While wearing the device, Simpson approached a worker at an information booth about an incoming flight on which her boyfriend was a passenger, according to Pare. Simpson then left the terminal and was surrounded outside by state police armed with submachine guns who ordered her to stop moving.

“I don’t think she understood the seriousness until the information person said, ‘I’m calling the police,'” Pare said. “Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force.”

During the arraignment, District Court Judge Paul Mahoney said he took into account the circumstances of the offense and the potential sentence as reasons for accepting lower bail.

“She is an MIT student – said it was a work of art,” Mahoney wrote in court papers outlining his decision. “She seems to have experienced extremely poor judgment.”

Simpson, from Lahaina, Hawaii, is being charged with one count of possessing a hoax device – defined as knowingly or unknowingly possessing, transporting, using or placing a hoax device or substance with the intent to cause others anxiety, unrest, fear or personal discomfort. If convicted, Simpson faces two-and-a-half to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000; she would also pay restitution for expenses incurred by city and state agencies in responding to the scene. Simpson’s boyfriend accompanied her to the arraignment.

“As reported to us by authorities, Ms. Simpson’s actions were reckless and understandably created alarm at the airport,” said MIT spokesman Greg Frost in the statement released Friday and later provided to The Daily Free Press.

Frost said MIT is fully cooperating with state police as the investigation continues.

A member of the MIT swim team and Hawaiian club, Simpson is studying electrical engineering and computer science in the School of Engineering.

According to Simpson’s personal school website, which was taken down after the incident, she describes herself as a student who loves “to build things.” Her website includes many pieces of art and inventions she had created and descriptions of how to build them for viewers.

Though the incident was met with an immediate media blitz, some MIT students said they could not speculate why Simpson brought the device to the airport, and many declined to comment on the issue entirely.

“I don’t know her and I have no idea what she was thinking,” said MIT graduate student Kathy Donnelly.

The scare involving what turned out to be an innocuous piece of art is reminiscent of the Jan. 31 incident that paralyzed Boston for several hours as police combed the city for what were thought to be explosive devices, but turned out to be light-up circuit boards placed in an off-beat Turner Broadcasting System advertising campaign for a movie.