White House Shooter Pleads Not Guilty - East Idaho News
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White House Shooter Pleads Not Guilty

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GETTY N 050411 WhiteHouse?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1327491324129Comstock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Oscar Ortega-Hernandez pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in what prosecutors charge was an attempt to assassinate President Obama.

According to investigators, the 21-year-old Idaho man got out of his car about a half-mile away from the White House and fired several rounds from a rifle before driving off and then fleeing on foot.

Ortega-Hernandez was arrested a few days later in Pennsylvania.  Last week, he was indicted on 17 criminal counts.

No one was hurt in the shooting, although bullets were found embedded in the White House.  The president happened to be in San Diego at the time of the incident.  His wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their two daughters were not home either.

No date was scheduled for Ortega-Hernandez’s next hearing.  Prosecutors contend that he’s dangerous and had been planning the shooting for months, reportedly spending time before the incident at an Occupy DC encampment.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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