Austin Haughwout

Austin Haughwouth
Born (1996-11-13) November 13, 1996
Clinton, Connecticut, United States
Nationality American
Occupation drone, hobbyist

Austin Haughwout (/ˈhaʊət/, born November 13, 1996[1]) is an American drone hobbyist and former engineering student from Clinton, Connecticut, known for YouTube videos relating to his use of drones. He is most recently known for his expulsion from Central Connecticut State University on the grounds of threatening a mass shooting in campus.

Assault victim

Haughwout first received media attention over an earlier incident in May 2014, when at the age of 17 he was assaulted by a 23-year-old woman who objected to his use of a drone for photography at a public beach. Haughwout recorded a video of the assault on his cellphone and posted it to YouTube. The woman was sentenced to two years' probation.[2][3][4]

Drone video controversies

Drone with gun

In July 2015, Haughwout, then an engineering student at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), posted a video on YouTube showing a drone carrying a semi-automatic handgun, which he had assembled, and which was seen to fire the gun several times. The drone was flying in woodland behind his home. The video, posted on July 10, had received almost 2 million views by July 21, and led to an FAA investigation as to whether Haughwout had violated aviation law, although local police said that they did not believe that he had violated state law.[5][6][7]

Drone with flamethrower

In December 2015, Haughwout uploaded a video of a drone carrying a flame thrower, which he had also created, and which was being used to roast a turkey. Again, the local police stated that no laws were broken.[8]

Legislation

The video with the drone-mounted handgun had been posted weeks after a proposal in the Connecticut House of Representatives to restrict armed drones had lapsed because of inaction. In early 2016, state legislators tabled two new bills that would impose restrictions on drone weaponization. The police seargeant who had investigated the gun video stated that, although a Second Amendment supporter, she supported regulation "because I don't see any, any civilian purpose for a flying gun".[9]

Austin Haughwout testified against legislation to ban adding weapons to UAVs.[10] He argued that the problem wasn't the weaponisation of UAVs but the use, pointing out that assault, murder and recklessly endangering the public were already illegal.[10]

Expulsion

In October 2015, Haughwout was expelled from CCSU for talking about "attacks on the university".[11] He says that this is over the drone controversy, and is taking legal action to compel the university to reinstate him.[12] In November 2016 his lawsuit against CCSU officials was dismissed, but his lawyer said he would appeal.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Drone Teen Arrested In Clinton". CBS News. 23 Jul 2015.
  2. ↑ Detelj, Tina (11 Jun 2014). "Andrea Mears, Austin Haughwout: Woman charged with assault over drone with camera filming at beach". WPTV-TV. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12.
  3. ↑ Associated Press (10 Jul 2015). "Woman gets probation after assaulting 'pervy' teen drone pilot". New York Post.
  4. ↑ Charlton, John (19 Jul 2014). "Woman From Viral Drone Video Appears In Court". Fox Broadcasting Company.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (21 Jul 2015). "Teen's video of handgun-toting drone prompts federal investigation". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ Associated Press (21 Jul 2015). "Teenager's video of gun-firing drone spurs investigation". Cybercast News Service.
  7. ↑ Ernst, Douglas (21 Jul 2015). "'Flying Gun' drone investigated by FAA after student's YouTube video goes viral". The Washington Times.
  8. ↑ Alba, Alejandro (9 Dec 2015). "WATCH: Connecticut teen tests fire-breathing, turkey-roasting drone". New York Daily News.
  9. ↑ Wilkinson, James (28 Feb 2016). "Connecticut lawmakers fight to ban ARMED drones after teenager built terrifying flying flamethrower and pistol". Mail Online.
  10. 1 2 Blair, Russell (29 Feb 2016). "Teen Who Built Gun-Firing Drone Testifies Against Drone Legislation". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 29 Mar 2016.
  11. ↑ http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-austin-haughwout-ccsu-lawsuit-0308-20160307-story.html
  12. ↑ Associated Press (9 Mar 2016). "Ex-student expelled over weaponized drone sues school". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12.
  13. ↑ Associated Press (28 November 2016). "Austin Haughwout, Man Who Flew Weaponized Drones, Loses Bid To Return To CCSU". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "CT man loses fight after expulsion over drone video". News 12 Networks. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.