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Man Detained Over Threat to Kill Obama Family

‘I may have to get in touch with al-Qaida … and blast my way into the White House,’ voicemail message said

Image: This booking photo from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office shows Darryl James Swanson, 45
Darryl James Swanson, 45, pictured at the Multnomah County Jail in Portland, Ore., on Friday, July 1, 2011. (Photo credit: Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

By Jonathan J. Cooper

July 6, 2011

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon man has been detained for a mental health evaluation after appearing in federal court Tuesday to face charges that he threatened to kill President Barack Obama and the president’s family.

The Secret Service arrested Darryl James Swanson, of Portland, on Friday.

Prosecutors said Swanson made threats in numerous phone calls to federal prosecutors’ offices in Oregon and Washington, a county government office in Florida, and The Associated Press. …

According to the criminal complaint, Swanson made threatening calls to a series of government offices, including three to the county commissioner’s office in Palm Beach County, Fla., 44 voicemail messages left June 19 with the U.S. attorney’s office in Portland, and three calls to the U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle on June 30. He was arrested the following day.

He also had called the AP bureau in Seattle on May 2, prosecutors said, leaving a message that said he would seek weapons to shoot the president and his family.

“I may have to get in touch with al-Qaida and get a hold of at least one, possibly two good working machine guns and blast my way into the White House,” the voicemail said. …

The day after the call to the AP, Swanson told Secret Service agent Ronald Brown that he made the call because he was frustrated that the president has not sent him a check for $70 million, which he claims he is owed from a trust fund set up at his birth, court documents show. Brown told him that no trust fund exists.

The Secret Service did not find weapons in Swanson’s apartment and warned him not to make threats against the president. But authorities say he continued leaving the angry and threatening messages at the government offices. …

Mert Rockney Jr., who described himself as a friend of Swanson’s family, said the defendant has struggled with his mental health for more than a decade. …

Full story

Note: This individual most likely suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and needs appropriate medication and supervision.

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Related interest on this site

Congresswoman among 12 shot at grocery (Image: CNN)

Security Watch: Domestic Threats (Feb. 28, 2011)

The Psychological Profile of Giffords Shooter Jared Loughner
(Jan. 10, 2011)

Gabrielle Giffords Assassination Attempt (Jan. 9, 2011)

Michele Bachmann and Political Paranoia (Aug. 25, 2010)

Suspicious Plane Crash in Texas (Feb. 19, 2010)

Economy and Obama Volatile Mix (April 16, 2009)

White House Attack Will “Amaze” (March 31, 2009)

Obama, Economy Fuel Hate Groups (Feb. 28, 2009)

Obama Racist Backlash (Nov. 16, 2008)

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Update

White House Shooting Suspect Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez Was Obsessed with President Barack Obama


Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (Photo credit: AP / U.S. Park Police)

The Associated Press via CBS Crimesider
November 17, 2011

WASHINGTON — Investigators say White House shooting suspect Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez was obsessed with President Barack Obama and reportedly thought he was the “Antichrist.”

Police say the 21-year-old Idaho man pulled his car within view of the White House at night and fired shots from an assault rifle, cracking a window of the first family’s living quarters while the president was away.

The U.S. Secret Service found two bullets had hit the White House and agents caught up with Ortega-Hernandez in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after a four-day search. …

Sources tell CBS News that Ortega-Hernandez was not on the radar of the Secret Service before Friday’s shooting. But investigators believe he may have targeted the White House due to a hatred of President Obama. Businessman Monte McCall said Ortega-Hernandez compared the president to the “Antichrist” when they met recently. …

Authorities are investigating the man’s mental health and say there are indications he believed attacking the White House was part of a personal mission from God, according to two different law enforcement officials who spoke with The Associated Press. …

Full story

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — July 6, 2010

Iraq-Afghanistan Casualties

One year ago today, I provided my weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Aghanistan wars.

Army Sgt. Matthew R. Hennigan, 20, Las Vegas, Nev., died June 30, 2010 at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained earlier in Tangi Valley, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his unit with machine-gun fire. He was assigned to 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany.

Matt Hennigan was a 2007 Silverado High School graduate. His father, Joseph Hennigan of Barrington, Ill., said his son joined the Army at age 17 and was proud to be in the 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Hennigan, a specialist at the time of his death, was posthumously promoted to sergeant and recommended for the Bronze Star medal for heroism.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — July 6, 2009

Patrick Tracy Burris is seen in a police photo released by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. The picture was taken after Burris’ arrest in connection with a shoplifting incident in December 1996.


South Carolina ‘Serial Killer’

Two years ago today, on July 6, 2009, I reported that the Gaffney, South Carolina killer who murdered male and female victims ranging in age from 15 to 83 in less than a week did not fit the profile of a serial killer (as labeled by the media) and could be more aptly described as a spree killer. As such, I predicted that — unlike most serial killers — he was unlikely to be captured alive to face charges. He was shot dead shortly afterwards in a standoff with police.





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