Drug Ban 'Fuelled' Obama Assassination Plot
Prosecutors allege the would-be assassin practised his 2011 gun attack on the White House for months.
Thursday 2 May 2013 10:29, UK
An Idaho man charged with trying to assassinate President Barack Obama may have been angry about laws banning marijuana, according to newly-filed court documents.
Prosecutors also allege Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez practised with his weapon for six months before the attack on the White House in November 2011.
The 22-year-old is currently awaiting trial for the shooting, which came while the president and first lady were away and did not injure anyone.
But it left more than five bullet marks on the Executive Mansion, and raised serious security questions.
Ortega-Hernandez, 22, has pleaded not guilty to the attempted assassination charge and other counts.
Prosecutors filed a 14-page court document this week that adds additional detail about their suspect.
They allege he "expressed anger towards the government regarding the continued criminalisation of marijuana," which they said he acknowledged smoking and claimed makes people more intelligent.
Prosecutors said they would offer evidence to show that his motive in shooting at the White House "was to punish and kill the president, who he believed was the head of a government that was oppressing its citizens in various ways, such as by continuing to criminalise the use of marijuana."
Ortega-Hernandez, was arrested near Indiana, Pennsylvania, several days later.
He allegedly told investigators his car was stolen from him at gunpoint on the same day as the shooting.