Man Held For Obama Assassination Threat

Raymond Hunter Geisel Had Gun, Knives, Ammo, Body Armor; Training As Bail Bondsman

(AP)  A man who authorities said was keeping weapons and military-style gear in his hotel room and car appeared in court Thursday on charges he threatened to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Raymond Hunter Geisel, 22, was arrested by the Secret Service on Saturday in Miami and was ordered held at Miami's downtown detention center without bail Thursday by a federal magistrate.

A Secret Service affidavit charges that Geisel made the threat during a training class for bail bondsmen in Miami in late July. According to someone else in the 48-member class, Geisel allegedly referred to Obama with a racial epithet and continued, "If he gets elected, I'll assassinate him myself."

Obama was most recently in Florida on Aug. 1-2 but did not visit the South Florida area.

Another person in the class quoted Geisel as saying that "he hated George W. Bush and that he wanted to put a bullet in the president's head," according to the Secret Service.

Geisel denied in a written statement to a Secret Service agent that he ever made those threats, and the documents don't indicate that he ever took steps to carry out any assassination. He was charged only with threatening Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, but not for any threat against President Bush.

Geisel's court-appointed attorney declined comment. The charge of threatening a major candidate for president or vice president carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.

The Obama campaign declined comment Thursday on the alleged threat.

In the interview with a Secret Service agent, Geisel said "if he wanted to kill Senator Obama he simply would shoot him with a sniper rifle, but then he claimed that he was just joking," according to court documents.

A search of Geisel's 1998 Ford Explorer and hotel room in Miami uncovered a loaded 9mm handgun, knives, dozens of rounds of ammunition including armor-piercing types, body armor, military-style fatigues and a machete. The SUV, which has Maine license plates, was wired with flashing red and yellow emergency lights.

Geisel told the Secret Service he was originally from Bangor, Maine, and had been living recently in a houseboat in the Florida Keys town of Marathon, according to court documents. He said he used the handgun for training for the bail bondsman class, had the knives for protection and used the machete to cut brush in Maine.

Authorities in Maine said Geisel pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal threatening after a 2007 incident and spent 48 hours in a Bangor jail.

Police in Hampden, a town just outside of Bangor, received a complaint from Geisel's brother on Oct. 18, 2007 that Geisel had threatened him with a knife, Hampden police Sgt. Dan Stewart said. Geisel was charged with criminal threatening and terrorizing; the second charge was later dropped.

The Secret Service affidavit said Geisel told agents that he suffered from psychiatric problems including post-traumatic stress disorder, but he couldn't provide the names of any facilities where he sought treatment.

[actornaught]

wellrowdy, i asked a legitmate question, and you didn''t answer it. You''re just not very good at this, no surprise.

And ''berty_1776, YOU are a creep, and an embarassment to your chosen name.

[patriot12436]

stratmaster
My opinion is that we never seem to get qualified candidates to choose from. The parties put up their candidates and we choose the lesser evil.

[patriot12436]

shazam
My apologies if i misconstrued what i thought were anti American comments. Ron Paul was also my first choice.

[patriot12436]

barbaraf4
To hold a position in law enforcement, security or bail bond retrieval agent requiring permit to carry a weapon you cannot have a mental instability incident on your record. Apparrently this man has never been diagnoised or treated for a mental condition.

[popstom1]

HAHAHAHA

[libsluv2spit]

mcvet...are you here..i want to talk to you about your threats...helllllooo?

[wellhell3]

Seeing as there''''s only 2 candidates for POTUS - why don''''t most Repugs like you ever post about why you think McCain is any better ? Then you post about questionable life-long ties ?? Keating 5 mean anything to you ??? or the name ''''Charles R Black'''''''' ???? - Now imagine any and all the names you''''ve heard supporting and clamouring for Obama that you consider despicable and questionable, all of them combined do not come close to the vermin that''''s ''''Charles R. Black'''' - He''''s the face of McCain''''s Campaign and it may surprise you that no one''''''''s making an issue of this just yet. And then, we start with the lobbyists and his extra-marital BS ..... I think you''''ve been badly lied to. I''''d advise anyone to try and get educated. Risky and Unwise ?? ROTFLMAO !Cheers!


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Posted by parrots11 at 11:14 AM : Aug 08, 2008

I can take care of that for ya! McCain has passed a LOT of bipartisan legislation.

McCain will protect this country with all it''s might!

McCain has NO ties to Islamofast bastwards that get their jollies killing Americans!

[wellhell3]

...thousands are dying each month.
Posted by obama8years at 04:43 PM : Aug 08, 2008

Source? More than 2 months, at least?


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Posted by actornaught at 05:05 PM : Aug 08, 2008

Guess you didn''t see did ya, when the bastwards bombed the KRAP out of India! Of COURSE you didn''t!

[jtyler271]

Posted by obama8years at 04:43 PM : Aug 08, 2008

Bigot.

[actornaught]

...thousands are dying each month.
Posted by obama8years at 04:43 PM : Aug 08, 2008

Source? More than 2 months, at least?