Security incidents involving Barack Obama
Some of the threats were extended to members of Obama's family, including former First Lady Michelle Obama.[5][6][7][8] Obama and his officials generally declined to discuss death threats against him during the presidential race.[5][9] Some commentators suggested the unusually high number of death threats targeting Obama are at least partially tied to the use of racist imagery and words by some of Obama's critics to describe him.[2] In 2009 journalist Ronald Kessler reported that Obama received 400 percent more death threats than his predecessor.[10] However, later that year the Secret Service stated that the volume of threats against Obama was "comparable to that under George W. Bush and Bill Clinton."[11]
2008
North Carolina Waffle House threats
Jerry Blanchard, an accountant from
Miami bail-bondsman training threats
Raymond H. Geisel was charged with making threatening statements against Obama during a bail-bonds training class on July 31, 2008, in
Assassination plot in Denver
Three men allegedly discussed shooting Barack Obama, then the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nominee, during his acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Cousins Tharin Gartrell, Shawn Adolf, as well as their friend Nathan Johnson, allegedly came to Denver specifically to kill Obama, and discussed in their hotel room how they could assassinate him.[9][18][19] On August 24, 2008, Gartrell was arrested when police found his truck filled with weapons and narcotics.[20][21][22] Johnson and Adolf were arrested shortly thereafter and, during a televised interview, Johnson later indicated Adolf was the one who planned the alleged threat.[19][23] Authorities later downplayed the threats and indicated the trio had little chance of successfully killing Obama.[4][19] The three men were charged with drug and weapons charges and sentenced, but did not face federal charges of threatening a presidential candidate.
Assassination plot in Tennessee
Paul Schlesselman and Daniel Cowart, two men with strong
Scranton "kill him" threat
In October 2008 it was widely reported that someone yelled "Kill him!" at a
Maine "dirty bomb" threat
On December 9, 2008, 29-year-old James G. Cummings, a wealthy white supremacist, was shot dead by his wife, 31-year-old Amber Cummings, in their
2009
Hawaii threats against Michelle Obama
Kristy Lee Roshia, 35, called the
2011
Khalid Kelly
In May 2011, Irish Islamist militant Khalid Kelly was arrested for threatening to assassinate Barack Obama. In an interview with the Sunday Mirror he said that al-Qaeda was likely to kill Obama on his upcoming trip to Ireland. He reportedly said he would like to do it himself, but was too well known. He stated, "Personally I would feel happy if Obama was killed. How could I not feel happy when a big enemy of Islam is gone?"[36]
Shots fired at White House
On the night of November 11, 2011, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez fired a Romanian Cugir semiautomatic rifle from his car parked on Constitution Avenue. At least seven rounds struck the White House, though no one was injured. He was arrested five days later in a hotel in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Obama was not at the White House at the time of the shooting. Federal prosecutors launched an investigation to determine if Hernandez acted out of hatred for Obama.[37] Writings by Hernandez and testimony from those who knew him showed that he believed President Obama was the Antichrist and the Devil.[38] In September 2013, Hernandez pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of property and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, thereby avoiding the charge of attempting to assassinate the President.[39] Originally scheduled to be sentenced in January 2014, Hernandez's lawyers objected to the "terrorism enhancement" as unconstitutional, though he accepted it as part of his guilty plea. On March 31, 2014, Hernandez was sentenced by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer to a term of 25 years of imprisonment.[40]
2012
Plot by terrorist group formed within U.S. Army
In 2012 a case was brought against four
Threats made by Denver area man
In October 2012, Mitchell Kusick was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service at his parents' suburban Denver home near
2013
Death ray plot
In June 2013, two men from
Crawford, affiliated with the
Ricin plots
2014
Omar J. Gonzalez
The 2014 White House intrusion occurred on September 19, 2014, when Omar J. Gonzalez, an Iraq War veteran, jumped over the White House's fence and entered the building's front door before being stopped by security officers. He was then arrested and taken to George Washington University Hospital after complaining of chest pains.
Later that month, Gonzalez was indicted for entering a restricted building while armed with a knife. He was also charged with two violations of local laws: carrying a weapon outside a home or business, and ammunition possession.
2015
Plot by three New York City men
In February 2015, three men from
Another accused, Kazakh national Akhror Saidakhmetov, plotted to travel to Turkey with an informant and proposed finding an excuse to gain access to the pilot's cabin and diverting the plane to the Islamic State, so that the Islamic State would gain a plane. During a secretly recorded conversation on November 14, Saidakhmetov allegedly told Juraboev that he wanted to enlist so he could serve as an ISIL spy and when Juraboev expressed skepticism, Saidakhmetov responded that he could always open fire on American soldiers and kill as many of them as possible. On January 11, 2015, Saidakhmetov allegedly told the informant that if he could not get travel documents to go to Syria, then he would buy a gun and use it to kill police officers and FBI agents. He was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport while attempting to board a 12:30 a.m. flight to Ukraine en route to Turkey, where he allegedly planned to sneak across the border into Syria and join ISIL.
The third man, Arbor Habibov, an illegal immigrant from Uzbekistan, was arrested in Florida, one of several states where he ran shopping-mall kiosks that sold kitchenware and repaired cell phones.[61]
Plot by a South Korean man
On November 11, 2016, a Korean man, surnamed Lee, was sentenced to eighteen months in prison for attempted intimidation after he posted two letters on the White House website in July 2015, in which he threatened to kill the
On July 15, 2015, a member of the United States Embassy in Seoul security staff found those threat messages and first reported them to the Korean National Police Agency's foreign affairs bureau. Following the request from the U.S. Embassy, the South Korean authorities arrested Lee on July 16, 2015.[66]
On March 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Korea overturned the previous ruling and acquitted Lee because of insufficient evidence.[67]
2017
Syracuse "hang Obama" threats
In 2017, Stephen Taubert, a 59-year-old
2018
Mail bombing attempt
In late October 2018, officials intercepted
2019
Larry Mitchell Hopkins
On April 20, 2019, the FBI arrested Larry Mitchell Hopkins. According to the FBI, Hopkins stated that he and his militia band, the United Constitutional Patriots, were training to assassinate Obama.[75] On January 2, 2020, Hopkins pleaded guilty to a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On April 15, 2020, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison.[76]
2023
Arrest of Taylor Taranto
On June 29, 2023, 37-year-old Taylor Taranto, who participated in the January 6 Capitol attack, was arrested near the home of Obama in Washington, D.C., with weapons and explosive-making materials.[77]
See also
- Threatening the president of the United States
- 11B-X-1371, a viral video falsely believed to contain a death threat against Obama
- Security incidents involving George W. Bush
- Security incidents involving Donald Trump
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