Aug 7, 2008 10:38 pm US/Eastern
Man Arrested In Miami For Threatening Obama's Life
Raymond Hunter Geisel was ordered held without bail at a Thursday court hearing
Read the criminal complaint
Read the order to hold without bond
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Federal authorities in Florida are holding a man accused of threatening to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
The Secret Service picked Geisel up after he was overheard making threats against both Presidential candidate Barack Obama and President George W. Bush at a training seminar for bail bondsman in Miami in late July.
Secret Service agents seized his 1998 Ford Explorer, the agents also recovered a cache of weapons including a loaded 9millimeter, knives, dozens of round of ammunition including armour piercing bullets, personal body armour, military style fatigues and a machete.
Later, according to affadavits filed in court, Geisel told Secret Service agents quote "if he wanted to kill Senator Obama he simply would shoot him with a sniper rifle." But then Geisel claimed he was just joking.
Geisel claims he's originally from Bangor, Maine. He said he made no threat against either Obama or the president.
Geisel appeared before a federal judge here in Miami today for a detention hearing where the judge ordered him held with no bond. In court documents filed at the hearing Geisel denied making any threats.
He did tell federal agents that he suffered from psychiatric problems including post traumatic stress disorder.
His arraignment on one count of threatening to kill or kidnap a presidential candidate is set for August 15.
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