Man threatens to kill Obama

2009-01-17 08:01

Jackson, Mississippi - A Wisconsin man was arrested on Friday in Mississippi after authorities said he threatened on the internet to kill president-elect Barack Obama.

Steven Joseph Christopher, 42, was taken into custody by the Secret Service in Brookhaven, Mississippi, and charged with threatening to assassinate Obama for what he claimed was "the country's own good", federal prosecutors said. The criminal complaint was sealed until Christopher's appearance in federal court.

Federal Judge James C Sumner ordered Christopher held until a bail hearing next Thursday.

"Threats against the president-elect will be taken very seriously," Dunn Lampton, US attorney for the southern district of Mississippi, said in a release.

"Use of internet chat rooms to express those threats is as much a crime as uttering the words. Threats of this nature will be pursued swiftly and vigorously."

An affidavit from Secret Service Special Agent Kelly Adcox released by Lampton's office quotes Christopher as saying he has nothing personal against Obama and that he's not a racist. Authorities said Christopher made the threats on January 11 and 15 on the website www.alien-earth.org.

"Yes, I have decided I will assassinate Barack Obama. It's really nothing personal about the man," Christopher said, according to the release. "But I know it's for the country's own good that I do this."

Authorities didn't say whether Christopher had weapons, but the affidavit said he wrote in his posting that he did not own a gun and needed one donated.

A reporter was prevented from speaking to Christopher, who appeared in court on Friday in shorts and a yellow T-shirt full of holes, or his attorney as they were escorted from the courthouse by authorities.

A message left with prosecutors seeking further comment and contact information for the defence attorney wasn't immediately returned.

Christopher faces up to five years in prison and up to $250 000 in fines if convicted on the charge. Authorities say the man was arrested without incident.

It is unclear if he was living in Mississippi or just visiting. No hometown was given.

But online court records in Wisconsin show someone by that name and with the same birthdate was charged last February in Walworth County with knowingly violating a domestic abuse restraining order. A hearing in that case was scheduled next Wednesday, records show.

He used his chat room postings to also solicit funds for bus fare to Washington, DC, authorities said.

"And I'll need a leak in the secret service to get a close up shot, somewhere close to the podium, since I've never fired a gun, so I need to an easy shot off," Christopher was quoted as saying. "Wattdysay fellas? Any help?"

- AP