Man Nabbed in Mississippi for Obama Threats

Wisc. native faces 5 years in prison for online posts

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 17, 2009 5:45 AM CST

(Newser) – A Wisconsin man was arrested in Mississippi yesterday after posting online threats to kill Barack Obama, the Daily Leader reports. Steven Joseph Christopher, 43, had written “ok we have 9 days until my Presidential Assasination” in an expletive-filled, anti-Semitic posting on the website alien-earth.org. He referred to Obama as “the sacrificial lamb.” He faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“It's really nothing personal about the man," Christopher wrote. "But I know it's for the country's own good that I do this.” He also requested bus fare and said he needed “a leak in the secret service to get a close up shot,” since he’d never fired a gun, the AP reports. Another post suggested Christopher had wanted to kill President Bush. He will be held until a bail hearing Thursday.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

President-elect Barack Obama speaks to workers about the economy in Ohio, Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Steven Joseph Christopher (Alien-earth.org/Youtube)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Threats against the president-elect will be taken very seriously. Use of Internet chat rooms to express those threats is as much a crime as uttering the words. - Dunn Lampton, U.S. attorney for Mississippi's southern district

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

White Grandfather Cuffed for Walking With Black Granddaughter (NewsOne)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Help! I'm Having an Incestuous Relationship With My Twin (Slate)

Proof that Twitter Users are Sexier Than Facebook Users? (GeekSugar)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 8 comments

Shannonals

Jan 18, 2009 12:54 AM CST

As muchas it pains me to say this, the article never states which party the man supports. If you read it, it states he once wanted to kill Presdient Bush, so unless they release his party affiliation, (which really shouldn't matter, because a nut is a nut), no one will ever know. As for people online making statements reflecting harm to any presidents, (present and past), believe that sites are being monitored.

Mad

Jan 17, 2009 2:25 AM CST

Let this be a warning to all those hateful Republicans who openly announce their desire to kill Obama. I wish there was some place to report them online, as they scare me with their frequency and vileness. GOD BLESS PRESIDENT OBAMA

PosterNutbag

Jan 17, 2009 1:18 AM CST

America is chock-a-block with dumb asses.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

Study Finds Arsenic in Baby Formula, Cereal Bars

Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice (Source Grid »)
Associated Press (Source Grid »)

Barack Obama • Wisconsin • death threats • assassination • Mississippi • website

More Newser Stories

Court: Call to Shoot Obama Is Free Speech

Court clears Walter Bagdasarian for exhorting people to 'shoot the [racial slur]'

(NEWSER) - The First Amendment protects even racists calling for the president’s assassination, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today, overturning the conviction of Walter Bagdasarian. Bagdasarian was convicted of threatening to kill a presidential candidate two weeks ahead of the 2008 election for an online rant in which he called for people to “shoot the n*****,” and predicted that Obama would “have a 50 cal in his head soon,” the LA Times reports. More»

Veteran Arrested for Threatening President

Michael Bowden would 'put Obama against the wall and shoot him'

(NEWSER) - A 78-year-old South Carolina veteran has been arrested after threatening to shoot the president. Michael Stephen Bowden, also a former New York City police officer and fire captain, told a nurse at a Veteran Affairs clinic he "would like to shoot the president then myself." He was arrested after telling another nurse he wanted to kill Obama "because he is not doing enough to help African Americans." Federal agents found 16 guns in his home when they searched it the next day, WYFF reports. More»

Feds Hunt Utah Man 'On Mission to Kill' Obama

Multiple gun owner charged with threatening the prez after statements in bank

(NEWSER) - The Secret Service is hunting a man who took all of his money out of a Utah bank and told the teller he was on a "mission to kill" the president, the Salt Lake Tribune. Daniel James Murray has been charged with making threats against the president. Authorities say he has at least eight registered firearms. More»

Threats Against Obama Soar

Obama threatened more than any previous president-elect

(NEWSER) - Law enforcement officials say Barack Obama is the most threatened president-elect in history, the AP reports. Potentially threatening writings, Internet chatter, and other activity aimed at Obama has soared since Election Day, accompanied by a surge in racist graffiti. Officials say most of the threats come from ranters lacking the power to harm Obama, but they can't afford to take anything less than seriously. More»

Secret Service Probes Pic of Obama With Bullet Holes

Image was posted on policeman's Facebook page

(NEWSER) - The Secret Service is investigating an online image of Arizona men showing off an Obama T-shirt full of bullet holes, it said yesterday. The seven young men in the picture are holding guns as one displays a T-shirt bearing President Obama's face and the word "hope." The image appeared on an Arizona police officer's Facebook page last week; the picture was taken down yesterday, the New York Times reports. "We’re aware of it, and we’re conducting the appropriate follow-up steps," says a Secret Service rep. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Man Nabbed in Mississippi for Obama Threats