Man accused of jamming passengers’ cell phones on Chicago
subway
By David Kravets
Published: 2016-03-10 · Archived: 2026-04-05 21:16:30 UTC
Undercover officers have arrested a 63-year-old Chicago man on accusations that he used a handheld jamming
device to disrupt mobile phone service on the subway.
Photo from Reddit of the alleged cell phone jammer.
Photo from Reddit of the alleged cell phone jammer.
The lawyer for the financial analyst at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System said his client
just wanted peace and quiet on his commute. “He’s disturbed by people talking around him,” Chicago attorney
Charles Lauer said of defendant Dennis Nicholl. “He might have been selfish in thinking about himself, but he
didn’t have any malicious intent.”
The Chicago Tribune also said that a local judge, when setting $10,000 bail after the Tuesday arrest, dubbed the
defendant “the cellphone police.” Lauer did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/03/man-accused-of-jamming-passengers-cell-phones-on-chicago-subway/
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Chicago Transit Authority commuters have been complaining for months that their mobile devices were suddenly
losing connectivity while riding Chicago’s subway and elevated train lines. Pictures of the alleged culprit had been
circulating on social media and even on Reddit. An undercover operation, police said, led to the man’s arrest on a
felony charge of signal jamming, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/03/man-accused-of-jamming-passengers-cell-phones-on-chicago-subway/
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/03/man-accused-of-jamming-passengers-cell-phones-on-chicago-subway/
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