Vet, 77, Busted For Obama Death Threat

[RamboLiberal]

Source: The Smoking Gun

A 77-year-old South Carolina man whose home was stocked with an arsenal of guns told Secret Service agents that he wanted to shoot Barack Obama “for what he has done to this country,” according to a criminal complaint charging him with threatening the president’s life.

Michael Bowden allegedly first spoke of killing Obama last week during a “routine check-up” at a Veterans Administration clinic in Spartanburg. Bowden, pictured in the mug shot at right, told a nurse that he “was thinking of traveling to Washington, DC, to shoot the President (Obama) because he is not doing enough to help African Americans,” according to an affidavit sworn by Agent Mark Booth.

In an interview last Wednesday with three federal investigators, Bowden acknowledged threatening Obama’s life at the VA facility.

In a sworn, written statement he noted that, “if I had the opportunity to put Obama against the wall and shoot him, I would.” Bowden added that if he could kill anyone, “I would kill, if possible, the President (Obama), for what he has done to this country.”



Read more: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stupid/vet-77-busted-obama-death-threat

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[TwilightGardener]

1. Odd.

[YOY]

2. Amazing that he only got pissed now. Not the past 30 years...but now.

n.t.

[timtom]

38. That question DOES pop up again and again with these misguided political naifs.

Where in the Hell WERE they in 1972, 1980, 2000, etc.?

[jmowreader]

42. In those years the corrupt/worthless/both president was a white guy

Not a black guy who's trying to be "bipartisan" with people who refuse to reciprocate.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Another angry old white guy

Sigh

[pattmarty]

6. Hey, I'm an "angry old white guy" too. The difference is I am liberal......

......AND sane.:sarcasm:

[Phil The Cat]

39. Stereotype much?

Let me guess - you are only prejudiced against old white guys!

[bluestateguy]

4. And I suppose his lawyers will plea for leniency because he allegedly fought in some war long ago

I want this angry white male in jail for a long time.

[pattmarty]

5. "Routine check-up"???? These fucking nuts are the people that............

...........vote the most. There are a lot of these goofy motherfuckers out there, AND there is NO off switch.

[Newest Reality]

7. These days, rather than reacting to this kind of thing ...

I find myself overwhelmingly curious as to how this man got that way. I mean, if we understood that and the strategy that he runs in his head, certain kinds of intentional ignorance and manipulated behaviors could be preventable.

[Beavker]

11. He's tolerated Librlizm for his whole life

But those were 'white' liberals. Obama is black. Last straw.

[JuniperLea]

14. I'd bet he's a Beck fan... and a Rush fan...

And he's susceptible to their flavor of whipped to a frenzy.

Faux Noise, Beck, and Rush, have made rabid haters out of several of my otherwise meek aunts, uncles, and cousins. I've watched it happen.

[jwirr]

17. We should be tracing the effect of his military history (they brainwash

them that dems are bad), his religious history and his TV sources. We would probably know how he got this way.

[snooper2]

8. about another decade or so for this last batch of racists to die off...

luckily...

[truthisfreedom]

32. There's something more complex than racism going on with this nutjob.

[Phil The Cat]

40. Only to be replaced by the next batch?

Open your eyes and ears: even the kids who are "not racists because they like hip-hop" have some shocking ideas and attitudes about African Americans! It's just that many of them LOVE the criminal, misogynistic, macho thug image!

In either case, when old boy and his contemporaries die off, it is NOT the end of racism! Nor can we neglect the HUGE problem of stereotyping against AAs by people of Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Asian origins!

Speaking of which: Do we know for sure the guy was being sarcastic when he said the President is not doing enough for African Americans? Or what he meant was the President is not doing enough BAD things to African Americans?

Or could it be the man is just plain mentally disturbed? That one has my vote!

[arthritisR_US]

9. and I'm sure his hero is Rush Limpballs. n/t

[drlindaphd]

10. It's about time

someone is finally being held accountable for making threats against the president's life. I have been hearing threats ever since he was sworn in by people in the right wing media circus and they have not even been called into question. People like Palin, Limbaugh, and Beck incite others to harm the president and they are not questioned or challenged.

People in this country always cite the First Amendment, but it does not apply. The First Amendment protects people from suppression of their speech by the government. It does not give people the right to say anything they want any time they want. The government cannot suppress speech, with a few exceptions like yelling fire in a crowded theater. But I, for example, can limit the speech in my own home. I can keep people from using profanity, for example. That is not illegal. It is my private property and I am not the government. The moderators of DU can limit speech on this site.

Anyway, to threaten the life of the president is treason and not covered by free speech in this country. This man and others that threaten President Obama should be punished to the full extent of the law.

[Winterblues]

12. I would bet most anything he is an avid Rush and Beck fan and watches no other

"News" source than Fox News...I would also bet most anything if you asked him exactly what Obama has done to America he couldn't answer..

[BeyondGeography]

13. A member of the not so greatest generation

[jwirr]

19. Most of us that age are actually the children of the great generation. nt

[BeyondGeography]

22. Is that the one that took us to Vietnam?

[jwirr]

24. The great generation went through the depression & WWII 1929 to

1945. Us children of the greatest generation did get us into Vietnam. Many of us also demonstrated to get us out.

[BeyondGeography]

26. Really? I didn't know children had that kind of power

[jwirr]

27. Corrected.

[Ian David]

15. More TeaTerror

http://tinyurl.com/TeaTerror
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9405084&mesg_id=9405084

Let's List the violent attacks by the Right Wingers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9389907

[CLANG]

16. Then he must also want to nuke GW Bush

Right????

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Nice that he gets health care via socialized medicine

If he's so pissed at the government, let him walk away from that VA health care, medicare, and his upcoming prison health care.

:hi:

[zalinda]

20. Wow, how many of you actually read past the first sentence?

Or did you just skip to his picture and assume he was/is racist?

This is what you missed:

Michael Bowden allegedly first spoke of killing Obama last week during a “routine check-up” at a Veterans Administration clinic in Spartanburg. Bowden, pictured in the mug shot at right, told a nurse that he “was thinking of traveling to Washington, DC, to shoot the President (Obama) because he is not doing enough to help African Americans ,” according to an affidavit sworn by Agent Mark Booth.

Until I hear the entire story, I won't presume anything.

zalinda

[Psephos]

23. You just revealed all the people who did not read the article. n/t

[jwirr]

25. I read it! Thought it was interesting but was not going to post at all

[RamboLiberal]

28. One thing I was wondering is if he really meant that

or was it said sarcastically?

I actually feel sorry for him. I think he's been addled by old age, medical issues & meds he's taking. But then again look at the Holocaust Museum shooter - he was an elderly nutcase. So I can't fault the Service for investigating.

Kerry Bowden did say that the Secret Service has been considerate of his family.

“They see it’s a medical situation rather than a law enforcement issue,” he said.

He said his father is taking a “bag full of drugs” every day and he thinks drug interaction could be causing problems.

Bowden said, “I think he was just fed up with it and he’s going to do what he’s got to do to get the help. And unfortunately he’s getting the help behind bars.”

http://www.wyff4.com/r/25910686/detail.html

[janet118]

33. Then why does he have "an arsenal of guns"?

A 77-year-old South Carolina man whose home was stocked with an arsenal of guns told Secret Service agents that he wanted to shoot Barack Obama “for what he has done to this country,” according to a criminal complaint charging him with threatening the president’s life.

If this guy is taking all those meds, then what the @#$% is he doing with an "arsenal" of weapons? Maybe pharmacologists need to edit the warning labels on his meds to read: "Do not operate heavy machinery OR GUNS after taking this medication."

[PavePusher]

36. Despite the wording of the article...

he did not have "an arsenal".

And, unfortunately, medication-interactions are not yet an exact science.

[Paladin]

37. It Doesn't Take An "Arsenal" To Commit A Political Assassination.

Just whose side are you on, here? Is the terminology used in the news article more important to you than the threat this individual made?

[COLGATE4]

21. Another loyal Fux News mouth-breather.

[bitchkitty]

29. Nut. n/t

[truthisfreedom]

30. ..."shoot the President (Obama) because he is not doing enough to help African Americans”

Not exactly what I expected, juxtaposed against his picture. I hope the psychiatric evaluation is very rigorous.

[tabasco]

31. Silly ass moron.

Nuff said.

[Tx4obama]

34. He should be held for mental evaluation and not charged for the threat

He told the NURSE that he was 'suicidal' - so apparently there are mental issues.
So, in my opinion instead of the nurse contacting the government/secret service, a doctor should have contacted the family and a judge to have him committed for evaluation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/25/michael-stephen-bowden-arrested_n_788447.html

[Tx4obama]

35. Update: A judge has ordered a full psychiatric evaluation.

Article here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/michael_stephen_bowden_1.php?ref=fpblg

[Tx4obama]

41. Update: Son praises Secret Service, blames VA

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/son_of_elderly_man_charged_with_threatening_presid.php