Man who shot at White House sentenced to 25 years
Source: Idaho Statesman
WASHINGTON — An Idaho man who pleaded guilty to firing an assault rifle at the White House in 2011, striking the executive mansion more than half a dozen times, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison.
Prosecutors initially charged Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 23, with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama but agreed to drop the charge as part of a plea deal last year. Ortega-Hernandez instead pleaded guilty to two charges, including damaging the home.
Obama and the first lady were not home at the time of the shooting, and no one was injured. But prosecutors said Ortega-Hernandez jeopardized the lives of two other members of the Obama family who were at the home as well as White House employees and staff, Secret Service agents and bystanders. Prosecutors said the bullets from his gun did nearly $100,000 damage to the home. They asked that Ortega-Hernandez, who referred to Obama as "the anti-Christ," spend 27 ½ years in prison.
Ortega-Hernandez's lawyers argued that he was suffering from extreme depression and mental stress at the time of the shooting and was under the misguided belief that the end of the world was coming. Ortega-Hernandez's lawyers said his motivation in firing a gun at the White House was to "call attention to what he believed was the coming apocalypse." They said he decided against shooting at the Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty because they would not attract enough attention. They had asked for a 10-year sentence.
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/03/31/3109596/sentencing-set-for-man-who-shot.html?sp=/99/101/531/
= new reply since forum marked as read
focus on the repair bill as being unreasonable?
In an interview with a journalist last year President Obama and he were sitting on the private balcony overlooking the lawn and the reporter commented how lovely and serene it felt. Obama said he might agree, except that this was the very porch that was shot at by that crazy guy with the rifle...
