A Tomah Man pleaded guilty to a federal jury of threatening to kill President Obama. The man posted on Facebook that he plans to shoot Obama on his visit to La Crosse.
After more than 4 hours of deliberation, a federal jury of 12 people convicted a man from Tomah, Wisconsin guilty of threatening to assassinate Barack Obama. 55-year old Brian Dutcher was pronounced guilty on two counts of threatening the president, reported ABC News.
A criminal complaint and warrant of arrest were filed on Dutcher for threatening Obama in a Facebook post on June 30, 2015. In his threat, Dutcher said that he plans to kill Obama when the President is in La Crosse to campaign his overtime pay reform proposal on the following day.
La Crosse Tribune reported that Dutcher wrote the following statements on his Facebook wall: "thats it! Thursday I will be in La Crosse. Hopefully I will get a clear shot at the pretend president. killing him is our CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY!"
On July 1, Dutcher was seen going inside the La Crosse public library. He reportedly told a security guard in the library, "the usurper is here and if I get a chance I'll take him out and I'll take the shot," talking about Obama.
Authorities in La Crosse were alerted of the threat and they held Dutcher who was staying in a van near the library. When they searched Dutcher and his vehicle, they only found a slingshot but no firearms of any kind. Dutcher said he uses the slingshot to hunt game like squirrels and rabbits for provision.
Dutcher underwent a physiological evaluation test before his trial. Stephen Mayer, Dutcher's lawyer, argued in court that the government has no evidence that Dutcher's threats against Obama were true to accuse him of federal offense.
"If it is an actual threat, Brian Dutcher goes dark," Meyer said. "A true threat is not posting it on Facebook for 114 friends to see." Under the definition of a true threat, the person who made the threat must have the intention to do it seriously. Meyer added that the words Dutcher used in his threats were only "careless talk" and "obvious political exaggeration."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger said that Dutcher was not joking about the threat but meant it for real. Pfluger added that Dutcher "crossed the line when he made the threats" and cannot be protected by the First Amendment, reported Madison.com.
Dutcher will be imprisoned for five years with each count. He will be sentenced on March 15 by U.S. District Judge William Conley.
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