Man charged with Obama assassination attempt

WASHINGTON -- A 21-year-old man accused of firing a semiautomatic rifle at the White House last week was formally charged Thursday with attempting to assassinate President Obama or members of his staff.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez of Idaho Falls, Idaho, made his first court appearance before a federal magistrate in Pittsburgh on Thursday, one day after he was arrested at a western Pennsylvania hotel. He will be taken from the federal court in Pittsburgh to face the charges in Washington.

If convicted, Ortega-Hernandez could face life in prison. He will remain in federal custody until a magistrate in Washington can determine whether he should remain jailed until his trial on the charge.

Ortega-Hernandez sat quietly as the hearing began, his hands free but his feet shackled, the Associated Press reported. He said only, "Yes, ma'am" when he was asked whether he understood that he would be going back to Washington to face the charge.

Law enforcement agents have been investigating whether Ortega-Hernandez — accused of firing at least two bullets at the White House — acted out of hatred for Obama.

President Obama, who is on a trip to the Asia-Pacific region, was not at the White House at the time of the shooting.

Officials said a man clad in black pulled his car within view of the White House on Friday night and fired shots from an assault rifle, cracking a window of the first family's living quarters.

Soon after, U.S. Park Police found an abandoned vehicle with an assault rifle inside it, near a bridge leading out of the nation's capital to Virginia. The car led investigators to Ortega.

The FBI took custody of Ortega's car Thursday afternoon to continue the process of reviewing evidence, said Lindsay Godwin, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office.

The Secret Service reported that one bullet struck an upstairs window on the south side of the White House — the residential portion — but was stopped by bulletproof glass.

Another bullet struck the exterior of the building, though the service has not said exactly where.

Authorities are investigating Ortega-Hernandez's mental health and said there are indications he believed attacking the White House was part of a personal mission from God, according to a law enforcement official who spoke with the Associated Press. There are also indications the suspect had become obsessed with Obama and the White House, according to two officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Gunfire was reported at around 9 p.m. Friday near the White House, the Secret Service said. The sound of the shots came from south of the White House, around the intersection of 16th Street and Constitution Avenue, about 700 to 800 yards from the White House.

Later that night, authorities reported a nearby abandoned car and an AK-47 rifle.

Obama was in California at the time of the shooting before traveling to Hawaii and Australia.

On Wednesday, law enforcement officials could be seen taking a photo of a window on the upper floor on the south side of the White House.

Ortega-Hernandez did not resist arrest, said Pennsylvania State Trooper Lt. Brad Shields.

He was reported missing Oct. 31 by his family.

On Friday morning, Ortega-Hernandez was stopped by police in a Washington suburb after officers were called for a report of a suspicious person.

Police took photos of him but had no reason to arrest him, police Lt. Joe Kantor said.

Ortega-Hernandez has an arrest record in three states but has not been linked to any radical organizations, U.S. Park Police said.

The last White House shooting occurred in 1994, when Francisco Martin Duran began firing a semiautomatic rifle from Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bystanders subdued Duran after he fired at least two dozen rounds. Duran is now serving a 40-year prison sentence for that incident.