Sure. that sounds plausible.
So before te Patriot Act was passed he wouldn't have been charged? Of coures he would have, but under what statutes?
There are laws about lasers near airports. The law sets up three zones, and each zone has a maximum power density.
IIRC, the closest zone is two miles, and it basically says "no laser beam", then the other zones are concentric. The outer zone is, I think, 6 microwatts of laser light per square centimeter. The law is set up to protect airports from outdoor laser shows or indistrial/scientific laser use.
If this guy met these guidelines, then there is "interfering with an aircraft" which includes bright lights, spotlights, searchlights, and lasers. There probably is a specific federal law that states that you can't shine a laser at an aircraft so that it bothers the pilots, but I'm not sure.
Then there are state and local laws- malicious mischief is a good broad category.
There are enough existing laws to convince this dude he had a lapse in judgement. I think the Patriot Act is an overkill; one that could backfire if the defense is on the ball.
When I have time I'll link to a post that has the limits and distances for airports and lasers.