On Friday, the U.S. Secret Service arrested a New York man with a loaded rifle, machete, and gas container on charges of threatening to kill former President George W. Bush over an apparent fixation with Bush’s daughter, Barbara.
“Bush will get his,” yelled Benjamin Smith, 44, while being taken into custody.
Authorities were tipped off by the suspect’s mother, whom Smith lives with, following her discovery of a threatening note and her realization that a rifle was missing.
“I’m going to work for George W. Bush and the Pentagon,” the note read. “I have to slay a dragon and then Barbara Bush is mine.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman said it was “unclear” whether a jury would find Smith guilty.
“Admittedly, there is some inconsistency in the notion that the way to win Barbara Bush’s affections is to kill her father,” said Pitman.
Smith’s defense attorney, Peggy Cross-Goldenberg, claims her client’s actions do not amount to a “true threat.”