Published : Nov. 18, 2011 - 10:30
BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ A man accused of firing an assault rifle at the White House believed he was Jesus and thought President Barack Obama was the Antichrist, according to court documents and those who knew him. At one point, he even suggested to an acquaintance the president was planning to implant computer tracking chips into children.
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (AP)
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, was charged Thursday with attempting to assassinate the president or his staff. He is accused of firing nine rounds at the White House last Friday night _ one of them cracking a window of the first family's living quarters _ when Obama and the first lady were away. If convicted, Ortega faces up to life in prison.
Ortega was arrested Wednesday at a western Pennsylvania hotel when a desk clerk there recognized him and called police.
Ortega's public defender, Christopher Brown, declined comment after his first court hearing in Pennsylvania. Ortega's mother has said he has no history of mental illness, though when authorities were looking for him, they reported he had ``mental health issues.''
In Idaho Falls, where Ortega is from, a computer consultant told The Associated Press that the two met July 8 after Ortega asked for help editing a 30-minute infomercial. Monte McCall said that during the meeting at Ortega's family's Mexican restaurant, Ortega pulled out worn sheets of yellow paper with handwritten notes and started to talk about his predictions that the world would end in 2012.
``He said, `Well, you know the president is getting ready to make an announcement that they're going to put GPS chips in all the children, so they're safe,''' McCall said. ``... And then he said, `That's just what the Antichrist is going to do to mark everybody.'''
Kimberly Allen, the mother of Ortega's former fiancee, said he had been well-mannered and kind in the four years she had known him. But he recently began making statements to her daughter that were out of character, including that he believed he was Jesus. Allen said the family was worried when he went to Utah recently, where he said he had business, and didn't come back. Ortega's family reported him missing Oct. 31.
Allen said they were flabbergasted to hear he was wanted in Washington.
``I believe that the boy needs help,'' said Allen.
Her daughter, Jessica Galbraith, was engaged to Ortega and is the mother of their 2-year-old son. She declined to comment Thursday except to say: ``I love him, and I'm here for him.''
It was unclear why or when they split.
Reached by the AP on Thursday, Ortega's mother said she didn't have anything to say. She earlier told the Post Register in Idaho Falls her son has no history of mental illness.
``He has different ideas than other people, just like everyone, but he was perfectly fine the last time I saw him,'' Maria Hernandez told the newspaper. ``He might be saying weird stuff that sounds crazy, but that doesn't mean (he) is crazy. He might be confused and scared.''
At his first appearance in court in Pennsylvania, Ortega sat quietly, his hands free but his feet shackled. He said only, ``Yes, ma'am'' when he was asked if he understood that he would be going back to Washington to face the charge.
According to a court document released after the hearing, authorities recovered nine spent shell casings from Ortega's car, which was found abandoned near the White House shortly after the shooting. An assault rifle with a scope was found inside.
A person who knows him subsequently told investigators that he had become increasingly agitated with the federal government and was convinced it was conspiring against him, the document said. Others told investigators that Ortega had reportedly said Obama was the Antichrist and the ``devil.'' Ortega also apparently said he ``needed to kill'' the president.
Authorities said Ortega was clad in black when he pulled his car within view of the White House on Friday night, fired shots and then sped away. The White House has not said whether the Obamas' daughters, Sasha and Malia, were there at the time or commented on the shooting.
Ortega was questioned by police on Friday morning, before the shootings, just across the Potomac River from Washington in Arlington, Virginia. Police said they stopped him after a report of suspicious behavior, but let him go after photographing him because they had no reason to make an arrest.
Ortega has an arrest record in three states but has not been linked to any radical organizations, U.S. Park Police have said.
This is not the first time the White House has come under attack.
In the last 40 years, the landmark has faced threats ranging from a stolen helicopter that landed on the grounds in 1974 to a man who wielded a sawed-off shotgun on a sidewalk outside in 1984. In 1994 alone, there were five threats including a plane crash on the lawn and a suspected drive-by shooting. Another man fired at least 29 rounds from a semiautomatic weapon, with 11 striking the White House.
Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential details for Obama and President George W. Bush, said Friday's shooting would likely mean tighter security and coordination.
‘오바마는 악마’ 백악관 총격범 정신감정中
미국 백악관에 총격을 가한 혐의로 체포된 용의자가 17일(현지시간) 버락 오바마 대통령에 대한 암살기도 혐의로 기소됐다.
백악관에 지난 11일 밤 총격을 가한 혐의로 전날 체포된 오스카 오르테가-에르 난데스(21)는 이날 피츠버그의 연방법정에 모습을 드러냈다.
제임스 키친 검사는 오르테가에 대해 대통령 암살기도 혐의를 제기했다. 오르테 가는 이 혐의로 유죄가 인정될 경우 최고 종신형에 처해진다.
법원은 오르테가를 사건이 발생한 워싱턴 DC 관할 법원으로 이송하도록 명령했다.
아직 오르테가가 왜 백악관에 총격을 가했는지는 정확히 알려지지 않고 있다.
그러나 법정에 제출된 연방수사국(FBI) 등 수사당국의 기록에 따르면 오르테가 는 평소 오바마와 백악관에 과도하게 집착하는 모습을 보여왔던 것으로 전해졌다.
오르테가의 한 친구는 오르테가가 평소 오바마를 "악마로 봤으며, 뭔가를 준비 하고 있었다"고 말했다. 다른 지인은 "오르테가가 오바마를 해치기를 원했고 오바마를 적그리스도라고 언급했다"고 전했다.
아이다호에 거주하는 또 다른 지인은 오르테가가 "오바마는 악마"라고 간주했다 고 수사당국에 증언했다.
익명을 요구한 수사당국 관계자는 현재 당국이 오르테가의 정신상태를 조사중이 라고 전했다. 그는 오르테가가 백악관 총격을 신으로부터 받은 개인적 사명의 일부로 보고 있다고 말했다.
이날 법정에 출두한 오르테가는 길고 헝클어진 머리에 수염이 난 모습이었다.
수사당국의 기록에 따르면 백악관 총격 사건은 지난 11일 밤 9시께 발생했다.
총성 직후 어두운 색의 승용차가 백악관 앞 도로에서 급히 발진하는 모습이 목격됐다.
경찰과 비밀경호국은 총격이 백악관 인근 600∼700ｍ 밖에서 발생한 뒤 즉각 조 사에 착수했고 5분 만에 백악관 앞 콘스티튜션애버뉴 인근에서 버려진 용의자의 차량을 발견했다. 이 차량 안에는 망원경이 달린 반자동 소총과 3개의 장전된 탄창, 9 발의 탄피가 있었다.
지금까지 조사 결과 수사당국은 오르테가가 백악관 앞 도로인 콘스티튜션애버뉴 에 세워둔 자신의 차량 안에서 총을 발사한 뒤 사건 현장을 급히 벗어난 것으로 추정하고 있다.
총격 당시 오바마 대통령 내외는 백악관을 떠나 캘리포니아 주 샌디에이고에 정박된 항공모함 칼빈슨호 갑판에서 열린 농구경기를 관람하고 있었다.
사건 당시 백악관에 오바마의 두 딸 등 나머지 가족이 남아있었는지 여부는 명확하지 않다고 미 언론은 전했다.