Man to be charged with Assassination attempt

[dre]

Add me to the group of people who agree that this should be labelled an assasination attempt.

A really bad one but, still.

Add ME to the list of people that wants the facts of the case and the validity of any charges to be evaluated by the judicial branch

[GostHacked]

Not anymore. Back in those days, there wasn't even a permanent RCMP presence. Now there is a garrison at one gate to the house, and a couple of guards at the other.

Nice, then I guess one needs two knives now!!

[MiddleClassCentrist]

Whether or not assasination charges are warranted will depend on intent, and whether his actions had any reasonable chance of achieving whatever we judge his objectives to be. And it will depend also on his knowledge of whitehouse security. If he knew that the windows and walls were bulletproof, then its hard to prove intent.

If I shoot at the side of a gigantic concrete bunker that you happen to be in, then things get a little fuzzy. If know full well that the bullet cant get through the concrete walls then my intent is not to kill.

Also i pretty much guarantee there will be an insanity defense here, and quite likely a pretty good one.

what would we have called it if he had hit Obama?

Accidental murder?

Edited November 18, 2011 by MiddleClassCentrist

[CPCFTW]

If it was an accident or people fooling around I wouldn't expect for them to be charged with attempted 1st degree murder, that is stupid

Obama nor his family were even in the White House at the time btw

The story is ...he shot at it with an assault riffle because God told him too..well there ya go, a religious nut job

lock him up forever

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/ortega-hernandez-obama-white-house_n_1099015.html

The hypocrisy of the left rears its ugly head in an 18 minute time span.

[CPCFTW]

hes an occupy wall streeter too... maybe hes a patsie planted by the fed government to shut everything down

What else would you expect from the land of paranoia...

Speaking of paranoia...

Edited November 18, 2011 by CPCFTW

[olp1fan]

The hypocrisy of the left rears its ugly head in an 18 minute time span.

how was that hypocrisy? do you even know the definition?

[CPCFTW]

how was that hypocrisy? do you even know the definition?

I assumed you were serious about locking him up forever given then left's hatred of religion (other than islam/buddhism).

My apologies.

So now let's get this straightened out, you're saying because he is a religious nut job that excuses him from trying to assassinate the leader of the free world?

Edited November 18, 2011 by CPCFTW

[Michael Hardner]

hes an occupy wall streeter too... maybe hes a patsie planted by the fed government to shut everything down

Last I heard, this point was unconfirmed.

[Guest American Woman]

In trying to determine why he traveled to the nation’s capital from the western part of the country, investigators ... found no connection between him and the Occupy D.C. protest, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the case. link

[olp1fan]

I assumed you were serious about locking him up forever given then left's hatred of religion (other than islam/buddhism).

My apologies.

So now let's get this straightened out, you're saying because he is a religious nut job that excuses him from trying to assassinate the leader of the free world?

no wtf, that was before i knew the facts of the case then i said lock him up

lol@ obama being leader of any world let alone the free world

[olp1fan]

In trying to determine why he traveled to the nation’s capital from the western part of the country, investigators ... found no connection between him and the Occupy D.C. protest, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the case. link

ive been reading he was part of occupy san diego

[Guest American Woman]

ive been reading he was part of occupy san diego

Wow. Don't know if he was part of it or not, but they had a "moment of silence in solidarity" for him. Unbelievable!

[olp1fan]

Wow. Don't know if he was part of it or not, but they had a "moment of silence in solidarity" for him. Unbelievable!

if i were san diego police id take out the clubs and club a bunch of thugs

[msj]

I don't know, maybe Ortega-Hernandez could try a self-defence argument.

Since Obama can justify the assassination of American citizens without judicial process....

To be fair, Obama should only be targeted when he goes overseas.

Who knows, maybe Ortega-Hernandez was planning a trip overseas and was merely defending himself.

[Moonlight Graham]

I have to wonder how ya'll would feel if someone specifically targeted your residence and purposely shot a bullet through the window of your main living quarters. I'm sure you'd see it as nothing more than target practice gone awry - being that you're neither "ridiculous" nor "paranoid."

have to agree with you AW. great point.

[Michael Hardner]

Olpfan answered it here:

If it was an accident or people fooling around I wouldn't expect for them to be charged with attempted 1st degree murder, that is stupid

[olp1fan]

People can love their country so much that they want to harm anybody that hurts it and on the flip side hurt the leader of any country that invades their country

I understand this, these issues are never black and white, there are a lot of grey areas

They expect us to fight for our countries government in war but yet its wrong for the people to hold the government accountable when it gets too extreme

My allegiance is with the people, not the government!

Edited November 19, 2011 by olp1fan

[Guest American Woman]

Whether or not assasination charges are warranted will depend on intent, and whether his actions had any reasonable chance of achieving whatever we judge his objectives to be. And it will depend also on his knowledge of whitehouse security. If he knew that the windows and walls were bulletproof, then its hard to prove intent.

Evidently there's no such thing as "bullet proof glass," only bullet-resistant, so I doubt that would be much of a defense. Seriously, dre - if the bullet had gone through and hit someone in the room, do you honestly believe - "It was bullet proof glass! I didn't think the bullet would go through!" - would prevent a murder charge? - do you see that as a viable, justifiable defense? If not, why should the standard be any different for "attempted murder?"

Also i pretty much guarantee there will be an insanity defense here, and quite likely a pretty good one.

This is very possible; evidently he believed he was a "modern day Jesus." If not, I believe the "attempted murder" charge should, and will, stick.

Edited November 19, 2011 by American Woman

[Moonbox]

As mentioned before, any court in the world would have trouble believing that someone firing a bullet at the window of the White House hadn't given serious thought that this was the residence of the President of the United States. Perhaps he was insane, but he'll still be locked up for good. Whether you want to call this an assassination attempt, or an attempt to make a statement (something akin to terrorism), he's toast.

[Guest American Woman]

Perhaps he was insane, but he'll still be locked up for good. Whether you want to call this an assassination attempt, or an attempt to make a statement (something akin to terrorism), he's toast.

Yep.

A man who shot an assault rifle at the White House is one of only a handful of people ever accused of trying to assassinate the president, and if the past is any guide he could spend many years in prison or a mental hospital if convicted.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/21/MNKB1M27PI.DTL#ixzz1efMiNCYl

[Signals.Cpl]

What about this makes it an assassination attempt?

The guy was an idiot, and didnt do his homework? Probably didnt know Obama was not at the White House.