Man Threatens President Obama

[acmavm]

Source: Omaha World Herald

Man Threatens President Obama
02-24-2009 3:04 AM

(Omaha, NE) -- Johnnie Galarza was accused of threatening to shoot President Obama soon after the election. Yesterday, officials in U.S. District Court in Omaha said the charge will be dismissed if Galarza undergoes psychiatric rehabilitation. Fifty-five-year-old Galarza had openly talked about how to shoot Obama during a therapy session. The remarks were reported to authorities by his Department of Veterans Affairs counselor. Galarza says he has been suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress from his days as an Army combat sniper. Galarza is not considered to be a dangerous person, according to an analysis from his therapist.





Read more: http://omaha.cox.net/cci/newslocal/local?_mode=view&view=LocalNewsArticleView&articleId=3935637&_action=validatearticle

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THAT'S ALL THERE IS.

[Arkana]

1. If the guy had threatened Bush he'd have been declared an "enemy combatant"

and never heard from again.

[Night_Nurse]

15. Yep, he'd have been "disappeared".... nt

[alsame]

2. He was a combat sniper but is not

considered a dangerous person after making this threat? :shrug:
It seems like he would know exactly what to do.

[acmavm]

3. Thank you! That was my first thought.

[shadowknows69]

4. Yeah, that's a pretty big WTF!!!

If Joe the Plumber said he wanted to shoot Obama who gives a fuck, but someone who was actually trained to kill at long distances???

[DUlover2909]

5. Yeah, a sniper trained by the US Military isn't dangerous?

Has anyone seen the movie Shooter?

[AnneD]

26. My Uncle was a trained sniper for the military.....

It did a number on his head too. We learned to be very careful when we woke him from his sleep. He broke my Aunt's jaw when she woke him from a bad dream once. He felt so badly about that too. He never picked up a gun and never hunted after that.

[geckosfeet]

23. Zactly. If he isn't dangerous - who is?

[Supersedeas]

29. move along....nothing to see here....nothing dangerous

[nc4bo]

27. The only way a combat sniper would not be a threat would be to amputate his arms..

Dittoheading the :wtf:.

[balantz]

6. More wars, more snipers, more destroyed lives. More dangerous insanity. How sad. n/t

[Connie_Corleone]

7. He's a fucking sniper and he's not considered a dangerous person!

:wtf:

[ColesCountyDem]

8. Trained snipers with PTSD and depression are not considered 'dangerous'?

That pshrink's license to practice medicine should be revoked!

:wtf:

[shadowknows69]

9. "Galarza is not considered to be a dangerous person, according to an analysis from his therapist."

Well, then he needs a second opinion.

[4lbs]

10. How true. A former military-trained sniper undergoing mental and emotional issues isn't a danger?

n/t

[Faygo Kid]

11. A sniper dittohead. Swell.

Betcha it's not hard to figure who fired him up.

[Berry Cool]

12. I don't get this.

First, the article says he "openly talked about how to shoot Obama during a therapy session" and "The remarks were reported to authorities by his Department of Veterans Affairs counselor." I gather the counselor is not his therapist, so how did the counselor know what he talked about in therapy? Did he TELL the counselor? Or did his therapist tell his counselor? (Is it considered the duty of a therapist to break the bond of doctor-patient confidentiality and report to authorities whenever a patient expresses a wish to do physical harm to someone else? Or just when they're employed by the feds and the threat is to the POTUS?)

Second, it says "Galarza is not considered to be a dangerous person, according to an analysis from his therapist." If the therapist heard him say these things in therapy, why does the therapist not consider him dangerous? And if the therapist truly doesn't consider him dangerous, why is it that this report of what he said even made it to authorities? Is it because all such statements are required to be taken seriously and acted upon, even if the therapist doubts the patient would back them up? You know, like joking about bombs while going through airport security?

This one raises some good questions. Mind you, I'm not saying the guy shouldn't have been reported--I'm just wondering what the chain of events was.

[truth2power]

19. Duty to Warn...

Legal precedent set in the case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976).

A therapist or counselor has a responsibility to warn the intended victim if a client expresses a clear threat to harm said victim. You can read more about it, here: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/css/cs3lk1.htm.

Also, a licensed counselor can also be a therapist.

[Pharaoh]

20. yes

when someone tells you they are going to kill someone, it's Okay to tell O8)

[Horse with no Name]

13. Hmmm. Treated and released.

Amazing, that.:eyes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynette_Fromme
On the morning of September 5, 1975, Fromme went to Sacramento's Capitol Park (reportedly to plead with President Gerald Ford about the plight of the California redwoods) dressed in a nun-like red robe and armed with a .45 Colt automatic pistol, that she pointed at Ford. The pistol's magazine was loaded with four rounds, but none were in the firing chamber. She was immediately restrained by Secret Service agents, and while she was being further restrained and handcuffed, managed to say a few sentences to the on-scene cameras, emphasizing that the gun did not "go off".<5> Fromme subsequently told The Sacramento Bee that she had deliberately ejected the cartridge in her weapon's chamber before leaving home that morning, and investigators later found a .45 ACP cartridge in her bathroom.<6>

After a lengthy trial in which she refused to cooperate with her own defense, she was convicted of the attempted assassination of the president and received a life sentence under a 1965 law (prompted by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy) which specified a maximum sentence of life in prison for attempted presidential assassinations. When U.S. Attorney Duane Keyes recommended severe punishment because she was "full of hate and violence," Fromme threw an apple at him, hitting him in the face and knocking off his glasses.

[williesgirl]

14. He's a trained sniper and is not considered dangerous? WTF.?

[lonestarnot]

16. Sounds like a danger to himself and others, but what do I know.

:shrug:

[Jefferson23]

17. Some how I doubt Obama's Secret Service detail is going to agree with this

notion that this man is not considered to be a dangerous person.

[smiley]

21. I'm assuming that he will be under continuous surveillance....

by the Secret Service. At least I hope.

But then again, this man may end up pulling another (supposed) Lee Harvey Oswald sometime in the near future.:tinfoilhat:

[Politicalboi]

18. They should inject a locator chip

In these nuts and then release if they can't hold them.

[Paladin]

22. If They Haven't Doubled Or Even Tripled The Size Of The Secret Service....

....they damned sure ought to, and immediately.

[firedupdem]

24. I read that and couldn't believe he was getting off the hook....

Disgusting. He needs to be locked away. Any person making threats like this should be thrown in jail for good. Unbelievable.

[acmavm]

25. I agree. Or at least for a long, long time.

[sofa king]

28. Too tough to tell from context, but....

I suppose I need not point out that in this hypersensitive age, talking about something and talking about doing something are often conflated. The article itself doesn't clearly make the distinction.

For example, many people consider Slayer an evil, satanic band because their lyrics often mention evil and Satan. But they're usually only talking about such things. Slayer lyrics writer Kerry King is an atheist.

But a lot of people consider atheists and satanists to be the same thing.

[acmavm]

30. True. But understand the context that this is ex-military trained as a sniper.