Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary identified the fence-jumper as Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas. According to court documents, he was carrying a folding knife with a 3.5-inch serrated blade.
Gonzalez faces federal charges of entering a restricted building while carrying a weapon, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A U.S. District Court magistrate judge in Washington today ordered him held without bond pending a hearing Sept. 22.
Margarita O’Donnell, a lawyer representing Gonzalez at a court appearance today, said he served 18 years in the military, including three tours in Iraq, and reported living in the Washington area for about three months.
Gonzalez told Secret Service agents he was “concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing” and wanted to alert the president, according to an affidavit filed with the court.
Source: Business Week
One wonders if he was a member of 350.org or some other similar climate propaganda organization.
Or maybe he simply got the idea from NASA: A Puzzling Collapse of Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
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I thought 3.5 was legal ?
A quick Google says 3″.
One has to wonder where the man learned “the atmosphere was collapsing”.
It certainly wasn’t here.
Poor guy. PTSD or some form of mental illness. Hope he gets the help he needs.
Pamela Gray:
My mother was beginning to show signs of mental illness late in her life before she died at 88 back in March of 2013, and it greatly saddened me to see it happen. Thankfully, she is now resting in peace.
If it is any consolation Pamela, this incident should lead to this individual getting the treatment for his mental condition that he needs. The court will likely (I should think) order an evaluation of his mental condition. If he does truly have a mental condition that requires treatment (as appears to be the case), I would think that the court will commit him to a facility where he will get the treatment for his condition that he needs.
However one chooses to look at this incident, he is crying out for help for his condition by doing this. Hopefully the court will see to it that he gets it. And that is what is important here.
You guys have to admit it IS a good defense.
Pamela is wrong. The worst thing you can do is attempt to close down any discussion about mental illness.
Last I heard, all skeptics are mentally ill.
Oh, and you must have taken her comments the wrong way.
Yep, I double down on your concern.
No need to warn the president, he already knows. And was not arrested.
A ha! Buried deep in this link “Or maybe he simply got the idea from NASA: A Puzzling Collapse of Earth’s Upper Atmosphere” is the explanation for the pause:
“When carbon dioxide gets into the thermosphere, it acts as a coolant, shedding heat via infrared radiation. It is widely-known that CO2 levels have been increasing in Earth’s atmosphere. Extra CO2 in the thermosphere could have magnified the cooling action of solar minimum.”
So not only is the sky collapsing, but that collapse is caused by CO2 (of course) and it is causing the pause as well by cooling the thermosphere!!!
Has Lewandowski weighed-in on this?
I’d be skeptical of his lawyer’s claim that he thought the “atmosphere was collapsing”. That may just be an excuse manufactured by the defense.
Rush to judgment
I missed the part where there was any medical or physical evaluation of Mr. Gonzalez, or any public disclosure of any such evaluations by qualified personnel
There are several thousand activists marching in NYC today as part of the People’s Climate March. Quincy Saul, who thinks Americans are “parasites” and “predators”, and who has been rallying activists with his column at Truthout sounds crazy to me…
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/26215-like-a-dull-knife-the-peoples-climate-farce
Getting back to Mr. Gonzalez, the 18 year service hitch is very odd. No GI with 18 years service would wiliingly get out with retirement just two years away. I wonder what he has been doing in DC for the past 3 months?
s/b medical or psychological evaluation
Considering that nasty pathetic call to terrorism by Mr. Saul, perhaps Mr. Gonzalez is part of Mr. Saul’s call to terrorize society.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/expd/15088556640/
Maybe he was simply making a political statement.
Let’s see. Jumping fences. Crossing borders and entering areas without proper authorization/documentation. Claiming the sky is falling/collapsing. A pocket knife. Question: was he wearing golf shoes?
I should have added, did he have a penny in his pocket?
– – – – – – – – –
Initiation of physical force like Gonzalez’s alleged very disturbing act is a very serious concern in a free society.
Please do not close down this thread because there needs to be a discussion of the principle of no initiation of physical force as being the fundamental rational basis of free society.
John
Or a political game by the appointed attorney.
we should encourage this type of action.
may wake people up faster.
would be difficult to do in a manner that would prevent physical harm though.
Truth is
Lies and false witness are the root of much evil. So too are jumping to conclusions, and being misled by appearances.
Of course, it’s entirely beyond the realm of possibility that Mr. Gonzalez was on some kind of assignment, and even if he was not, what about all those people marching today in NYC? Many have had their minds bent by the relentless media propaganda about damage to the planet from carbon, and runaway global warming.
We all know the injunction against falsely yelling Fire! in a crowded theater, but what about the likes of Quincy Saul, whose hysterical caterwauling exemplifies the kind of fiery demagoguery that makes mobs run amok, and leads deluded, but self-righteous people to do seemingly crazy things?
.
Human Beings, en masse, prove to be quite gullable. History confirms this. Especially if you propose to “eat the rich”.
Steve P on September 21, 2014 at 10:13 am
– – – – – – – – –
Steve P,
If a person believes there is a fire in the theatre, like if an CAGW activist believes the earth is burning up, and even if either of those has no real physical evidence about their beliefs, then yelling ‘fire’ / ‘earth burning up’ is not intended to cause harm, quite the contrary yelling is believed by them to prevent harm. Yet harm may be very likely to indeed result from them yelling out about their beliefs when others simply, without actual reason, panic at the yells of alarm.
This is why the nature of risks of uncritical based panic needs exposure.
John
Alright!! Another Global Warming euphamism, Climate Collapse. Sounds much worse than Climate Change or Climate Disruption or even Climate Weirding. I hope it catches on.
RobRoy: “Another Global Warming euphamism, Climate Collapse.”
Sounding more and more like the Fence jumping, White House door crasher was part of a AGW political stunt. A stunt I wouldn’t be surprised to find Obama administration having setup.
Conspire much ?
You were just kidding, I hope.
Squirrels strapped with C-4, would make for better tv.
u.k.(us)
You are asking wrong person about Conspiring. You should be asking Mann, Gore, Hansen, Obama about their AGW Scam. Then there is Obama and Holder’s gun running (aka Fast & Furious) that was setup for purpose of calling for new and stricter gun control laws. Whatever these people appear to be doing, rest assured they have a hidden agenda.
Obamacare was never, I repeat NEVER, about better and affordable Health Care for Americans. If it were, Obamacare would have been centered on TORT reform, saving Americans 250 Billion dollars a year. Obamacare’s purpose is to break America’s Health Care system to where America has to implement a Universal single payer Health Care system. A system that is controlled by Big Brother, a system that ensures We the People are beholding to our Elitist masters in Washington.
John Whitman: “Initiation of physical force like Gonzalez’s alleged very disturbing act is a very serious concern in a free society.”
You do realize, the Obamas, Holders, Reids, and Pelosis have instigated these kinds of acts?
The aforementioned are same ones who promoted Occupy Wall Street trashing, ugly protesting and rioting to force Zimmerman’s arrest; while declaring peaceful and respect demonstrations by Conservatives and TEA Party members as radical and racist.
Thus, I see the act only as serious concern to “free society” in that Obamas, Holders, Reids, and Pelosis have promoted such acts. They are the ones who have been brain washing people into believing in AGW Sham. As far as fence jumper’s act being a threat to President, a serious concern – Ho Hum. A serious concern would be an actual (no False Flag) attempted assassination, aka a Hinckley type shooting at Obama.
Darren Potter on September 21, 2014 at 4:46 pm
@ur momisugly John Whitman
– – – – – – – –
Darren Potter,
Do we both agree that if the government of the USA initiates the use of physical force against its own citizens then it is acting against the basis of our open society?
I do not doubt that there have been or are cases where the USA government has acted with initiation of force on its own citizens. The idea is that our constitution gives weight in independent courts to protect us. Do they sometimes fail to protect? I think they have sometimes failed. BUT GENERALLY there has been protection here in the USA if the government tries to initiate the use of physical force against its own citizens. Is that protection significantly degrading in this most recent decade? Some make a very vocal case that it is degrading and I think it is likely to be a focus of upcoming USA elections this year and also in 2016.
John
The climate kooks prey upon the vulnerable like Mr. Gonzalez by pushing their apocalyptic climate fear 24 X 7.
I hope he can get the help he deserves as a Veteran. I hope that climate fear mongers will start considering how their hype encourage the most vulnerable to act as if their hype is actually true.
This Quincy Saul is right up there with Pol Pot as far as his vision of a people in balance with nature.
He is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
Koo-koo. Just adapts the current news to fit his delusions. Hmmm-he’s got a lot in common with BO.
He’s actually not wrong. The atmosphere HAS been constricting since the late 90s.
Well not to worry about a somewhat impaired WH fence jumper. The Casa Blanca security have ISIS under control, and besides, global climate change is a far more serious threat to the White House, than some 7th century butchers.
On another note: John Key now has a bigger majority in Parliament, in NZ, so maybe he is up to kissing off Kyoto at last.
He was helped along by some German nutball, mumbling about hackers.
Not that Germans are nutballs; just this nutball happens to be German. My sympathies to our German friends, for this albatross around your necks.