In modern society, with the popularity of smartphones, public places have become increasingly noisy. Many people choose to turn off their phones on subways, buses and other means of transportation in order to enjoy a quiet environment, but for 63-year-old Chicago man Dennis Nicholl, this option seems not enough. In order to get a relatively quiet environment during his Red Line subway commute, he decided to take more extreme measures-using illegal signal jammers to block cell phone signals. However, this behavior eventually brought him legal troubles.

From "pursuit of tranquility" to legal disputes

　　According to court records, Nicholl was arrested for using a cell phone jammer on the Chicago subway Red Line. The case sparked heated discussions on social media, and Nicholl was even nicknamed "Red Line GPS jammer" by Reddit users. The cause of the incident was that he hoped to block the ringing and talking sounds of mobile phones in the car during his daily commute to get a moment of peace. However, this practice not only violated the communication rights of others, but also violated the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

　　Nicole was arrested by Chicago police on March 7 while using a Wifi jammer on a subway Red Line train. An undercover police officer observed Nicole activating the device in the car, causing other passengers' cell phone signals to be instantly interrupted. Nicole was then arrested on the spot and spent a night in jail, awaiting a bail hearing the next day.

Source and background of the jammer

　　According to investigations, this jammer was illegally purchased by Nicole from a Chinese manufacturer. The jammer is powerful and can effectively block cell phone signals within a certain range, making it impossible for passengers to make calls or surf the Internet normally in the subway car. After receiving the complaint, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) joined forces with the Chicago police and the Federal Communications Commission to investigate and eventually brought Nicole to justice.