The man who went through security the wrong way, disrupting airline traffic at Newark and thus nationwide, was neither a terrorist nor a dumbass, as we had speculated last week. He was a romantic fool who wanted a kiss from his girlfriend. Okay, maybe that falls under “dumbass.”

At worst, the suspect, Haisong Jiang, will receive 30 days in jail.

On Saturday, some of Mr. Jiang’s roommates described him as a “romantic” now trying to secure a lawyer after the dizzying turn of events. His actions might have seemed innocently romantic to him, his friends said. But the incident was yet another lapse in airport security that frustrated harried travelers in the wake of the failed plane bombing on Christmas and incensed one New Jersey lawmaker over the leniency of Mr. Jiang’s potential penalty.

That’s the thing. Life isn’t a romantic comedy.

A ‘Romantic’ Now in Trouble Over an Airport Kiss [NY Times]

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