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A Mississippi man was sentenced to 10 months in prison for threatening to kill President Barack Obama and to blow up the hospital that refused to treat his wife.
David Williams, 45, of Attala, pleaded guilty in August to a two-count federal indictment. At his sentencing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Allen Pepper also ordered Williams — who could have faced 15 years in prison — to undergo anger management counseling.
The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, said Williams called the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in July to schedule surgery for his wife. When the hospital refused his request, Williams became angry and threatened to blow up the hospital.
Secret Service documents filed in the case said he also threatened to kill Obama, whom he referred to using a racial slur.
The hospital said Friday it couldn't discuss its decision not to treat Williams' wife because of privacy laws.
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I remember my first beer.
now that got a laff outa me
And Joint. That is why some people should smoke instead of drink.
The wife probably couldn't get surgery scheduled because she didn't have any money or insurance, Obama is going to fix that in 2014 and he wants to kill him. Some irony.
And Joint. That is why some people should smoke instead of drinking.
The wife probably couldn't schedule surgery because she didn't have any money or insurance, Obama is going to fix that in 2014 and he wants to kill him. Some irony.
Irony? No, just just pure unadulterated hatred. You have to understand the ignorance of the mentality of the South to understand that their hatred runs so deep, it defies all logic. I think his comments in the Secret Service documents says it all.
Hooray for inflamatory headlines!
Should read "man sentenced for threatening to blow up a hospitol"
Which, for the record, is like saying bomb on an airplane.
People threaten to kill Obama all the time, on this forum no less.
LOL to # 1 and 2!
10 months in jail is a slap on the wrist and I don't care which president it is whose life is threatened. Such a targeted threat against a highly visible public official of ANY party should be met with an overwhelmingly strong counter attack so that it doesn't just become something that happens "all the time".
Oh dont worry Rick, with the passing of the defense bill, those people will be safely locked away for the rest of thier lives, and without trial even!
I don't support that, and I will be really pissed off if the President actually signs that piece of crap legislation. That being said, you never threaten to kill a POTUS.
Rick people say some crazy things when they are angry...I'm sure you have said some things you wish you hadn't in a heated argument...so while I think he certainly should be punished, ten months in exorbitant. Now if they had any evidence at all that he was attempting to follow through with his threats then sure. We're not even talking about something like screaming "fire!" in a theatre, because that can be extremely dangerous as people flee.
Mike - Not to be argumentative - but it seems that he was sentenced more for threatening to blow up the hospital, not for threatening to kill the president. But I could be wrong.
useful post,angel.
Threatening to kill a president is a federal crime and if you get caught you could go to jail, even if others on this board get away with it
He threatened he didn't actually kill his royal hine ass oblabber mouth.!
All words and a lot of hot air.That's why he only got 10 months.
Gloria, thanks for the intelligent comment. Not.
You're most certainly welcome!What's the matter you're pissed off because I called Obama a name?
Too Dam Bad!I don't want to see him killed because I don't believe in killing people. However I want him gone, very gone in November!
4 more years of this man will put a bullet right in the head of this country.I have NO USE FOR HIM NONE, and I don't give a flying rat's ass who knows either ,whether it's you or anyone else.
After him signing that Defense bill that was it.He just took the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and used it for Toilet Paper.You know that very piece of paper that is the foundation of this country?Perhaps you don't!
No No I can't stomach the Guy President of the United States or not.Just another corporate puppet with no balls, or self respect!
Bill of Rights? Constitution? Men wrote those documents and men change them all the time. Just think, if they hadn't amended the constitution women like you couldn't vote, though I doubt you vote at all. You obviously don't do your homework either, you have no legitimate gripe about the President's policies, you just hate him. I wonder why?
But I'm sure you loved Bush when he was around. Even though he cost this country thousands of lives over in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention billions of dollars that could sure be used to get us out of this mess right now.
@gloria -- where was your anger when the Patriot Act was signed? That's the bill that destroyed your rights!
By the way, no one cares that you don't like Obama --- really.
Kat where was my anger when the Patriot act was signed right out front , but nobody heard it because they were all in a Tizzy about 9/11.Nobody wanted cared or wanted to hear about Civil Rights back then.So Bushy and Company Snuck it right in.
So if they don't care whether I like obama or not why the retort?They could of just skipped by the post.I don't care if they care or not.Really!See it goes both ways.
You Chris are really screwed up with the constitution.Yes I have plenty of legitimate grips with this president.You also don't the difference between hate and repulsion.
Oh and as far as Bush was concerned Forget it he was on my Crap List.He started to take this country apart Obama is going to finish it.
Better Open your Eyes People and you've Been Sucker Punched by Mr Suave amd company!
Have a Nice Evening!
So it's just another day in the park then?
wonder how his wife is doing.
All I can hope for is that whatever ailed her a) allowed her to live and b) doesn't allow her to breed further
The irony is that the POTUS he threatened to kill has gotten politically bloodied and personally demonized trying to make sure people like this guy's wife can't get turned away from hospitals.
If he had threatened "let-him-die" Ron-Paul, it might have been a more consistent form of lunacy.
21st century
Well said and absolutely true.
The guy got off too easy. You don't threaten any president. Ever.
They probably realized he wasn't really a threat and was spouting off in anger but yes, he was lucky to only get 10 months. The Secret Service takes a very dim view of anyone indicating their desire to harm the President in any way shape or form. There are probably a lot more investigations out there than what actually makes the news. ANY threat is investigated..not just the loud and boisterous ones who actually, most of the time, are the least threatening. As someone once said, it is the quiet ones you have to look out for.
why wouldnt they treat his wife. its my understanding the University of Miss Medical center is a ward of the state of mississippi. Is anyone looking into that or are we just assume she gonna die soon?
"why wouldn't they treat his wife...?"
she wasn't an illegal....
Maybe she was!!!!
He's probably a Tea Bagger.
more likely, he was a left wing nutjob, just like the left winger who shot Giffords.
Knock it off both of you. That is the kind of idiotic rhetoric that's driving people out of rational debate. Pull your heads out of your diapers and stay on point.
@ Rick's Real. Thank you very much, you post says it all I admit there are times when I have become stupid on here, now I just comment on the positive post such as yours.
Here is his picture....
What are the odds of a white guy from Mississippi being a lefty and threatening his President? You do realize that Obama received only 1 in 10 white votes in many areas of that state?
http://www2.wjtv.com/news/2011/jul/21/attala-county-man-jailed-threat-kill-president-oba-ar-2170680/
They all hate him until they need his help.
They need his help now, but their hatred and ignorance (and FAUX News) is blinding them to the fact that he's trying to help people like him and his wife!
kat 1015719
I agree with you about Fixed News, Rupert Murdock and his band of serial liars should be shut down by the FCC. These people are traitors that have caused massive damage to America, their nothing more than terrorists with a license to broadcast their hatred and lies.
This was just so good I had to post it again, in case you missed it:
What good does it do to make a stupid person undergo anger management counseling?
I don't know. Tell me.
10 months? probably have to do his time at a federal prison camp, big deal.
I agree - no matter how you feel, you never threaten a president's life. The sentence was far too light. I'm guessing the red tape at the hospital was due to health care laws that Obama has changed and was a road block for them.
Yeah Tracie. Before that it was much simpler. If you didn't have money, the hospital just told you to f*** off. Now there was probably some paperwork before they told him to f*** off.
Yep. True Bill. Tracie that was just a blow to the POTUS because you don't like him or you are not very smart.
@Diverdown -- I'll bet it's the latter!
46 deleted, Polihali wondering 'why not' kill the POTUS. Banned, reported to authorities.
This isn't a time in our country for "guessing" Tracie-3158763; either you know what you're talking about or you don't. It's my suspicion that if you knew, you wouldn't be guessing.
I don`t know what the Mississippi hospital`s tax status was, but if it was not-for-profit it should have treated the woman. A for-profir could have refused. There is nothing said about the circustances either, so I have no opinion about the refusal to treat otherwise. But such threats are generally defineable as assault. Freedom of speech is not absolute.
No hospital should turn anyone away in this country, that's just plain wrong. This is one of the things President Obama is trying to change and he gets nothing but right wing lies and hatred for his efforts. I wish people would wake up to the fact that this President is trying very hard to help the American people and for doing that he gets kicked in the teeth every day by Republican politicians that are in the pockets of big money special interests.
They apparently didn't pursue charges along this line, but given the rest of the details in this story, I'm betting they could have also convicted him of "voting while Republican"!
Rhetorical question;
Just because I dig a hole will someone put a body in it?
That is sort of what our prison system has become after 'privatization' is it not?
Irrespective of the "confidentiaity" stuff, this couple probably did not have insurance coverage and was the reason the hospital wouldn't treat his deathly ill wife. While that is no excuse for venting his anger at the President or making crazy, redneck threats and using racist language, many in America suffer the frustrations of not having adequate medical care due to just being poor. While I've little sympathy for racism or even the ignorance of many still living in the poorest, most backward uneducated state in the nation, I do hope his wife receives at least pain management. And I hope counseling helps this man accept his fate and resolve his anger. The only thing that is really going to help, unfortunately, is better medical care for the underpriviledged in our nation--regardless of the state in which theyl ive or the color of their skin.
You can't just call a hospital and schedule a surgery for someone, had the wife been seen by a doctor before she was referred for surgery? Had she had the proper bloodwork, EKG, and x-rays to ensure she didn't die from complications on the operating table? The entire referral process exists to make sure people don't get unnecessary surgery just because they think they need it. If it were a real emergency, she could call an ambulance or get to the ER... if it was something that needed to be planned, then the surgeon's office or hospital schedules the surgery for the patient after getting the proper testing done ahead of time so the surgeon can review the records... the process exists to make sure the surgery is safe.
Noob: all this is true, but you are assuming they had the medical coverage that would have permitted these steps. Many doctors/hospitals will not even accept medicare or SSI/SSD, and are even picky about who your carrier is if you have insurance. Just try to get an appointment for all these steps and procedures --unless of course you are Gabby Giffords and have primo coverage at taxpayer expense.
drushalli,
Seriously? You're criticizing the congress woman for having the same medical coverage that every representative and senator has, including republicans?
@drushalli, I was with you until that Giffords remark. Totally unnecessary.
I agree with Noob here. Since we don't have the story of why the surgery was refused, it could have been a very valid reason. Speculating that it was only due to the healthcare law changes is just that, speculation.
What kind of a human being... I would have to hide my face in shame if I ever made a remark like that.
10 months I think is a rational sentence. Can't have ppl going around making threats against the prez. Of course if he were a cop it would be a whole different thing..
What The.......?
People who rage like that on the phone are usually venting frustration and that alone "blows their wad" of frustration fed anger. That man wouldn't have blown up the hospital any more than I would have pushed my car off a cliff the last time it broke down even though I told my husband I wanted to do just that.
People get angry, afraid or frustrated and they get verbal diarrhea. From the sound of it the hospital could have at the very least offered counseling or the assistance of a social worker (whom by the way do some great work in the hospitals for those without insurance or of low income). The guy was between a rock and a hard place so the hospital decides to drop the rock on him. Crap Justice IMO
Tell you what when you are really pissed off go into an airport and start yelling you are going to blow the place up. That crap wouldnt fly at an airport and it shouldnt fly at a Hospital. This guy is an adult in a post 9/11 world give me a freaken break, if he was pissed that is fine but if he wants to be a supremely dumb idiot and make terrorists threats then he deserves what he gets.
Time to wake up America and think with the meat between your ears before you act. with all the crazies out there that actually cause death and mayhem I would rather the law be safe then sorry. Maybe people will learn to grow up and act like adults otherwise there are consequences.
In a post 911/Patriot Act-America, you better learn how to bridle your tongue. People are not going to just sit by and wait to see if you'll actually carry out a threat, or were just blowing off steam! Get used to it.
Unless there's more to the story, Wow. A guy gets ticked off because his wife can't get medical help, blows his top and says a bunch of stuff that upsets or scares some people.
He then goes through the legal process and winds up in jail for 10 months.
Unless he was actually planning to do something, for real planning and had the ability, time, money, etc. - I don't really want my tax dollars spent jacking with this guy. What did it cost to investigate, prosecute and now house this guy? Probably a year's worth of income for someone out of a job.
His current life has changed as well as those around him that may need/depend on him and of course his future is screwed. Because he flipped out and said some stuff. He didn't go into an airport yelling, he didn't yell fire in a theater and he wasn't stalking the pres. He flipped out and said some stuff. The guy needs help. A visit from some authority figures, a trip to the cop shop and a slap on the wrist was in order.
What an absolute waste of time, energy and money.
Try calling any hospital to schedule surgery for yourself or your spouse, insurance or no insurance, they will tell you to see a doctor first.... how is that difficult to understand?
to all less skilled whites, a black president is unbelievably galling. being white is worth everything to those with nothing else to offer. thus the tea baggers, the laziest, most racist americans since the age of the lynch mobs ('freedom mobs' for teabaggers.)
Nine months is waaaaaaay too much time for anything verbal. This guy was obviously just spouting off and obviously did not have means to carry out the threat of either.
he doesn`t sound like a serious threat to me,but anger management might be a good idea.next time he loses it he might hurt someone near and dear.
Agreed.
You don't make a death threat against the President of the United States -- regardless of party affiliation. It is that simple.
You don't threaten to bomb a hospital -- regardless of how upset you may be at said health care facility. It's that simple.
If you do and get caught, you're going to get put in timeout to think about your idiocy. It's that simple.
liberalnewssucks,
I think it's a safe bet that had someone made a similar threat against W, you'd be reacting very differently. Afterall, it was the right-wing nut jobs that told us (until 2009) that it was anti-American to ever disagree with the president, and doing so was the equvilent of swearing loyalty to Osama bin Laden.
considering how many times shots have been fired at presidents this is not news.
I totally agree, Cvilleguy. When my son was sent to Iraq in 2003, I was told that I was either with the President or with the Taliban by one of my ultra right coworkers because I didn't agree with the war. I will never, ever forget those days. I think about them every time I vote.
For some of you there seems to be only an extreme point of view. That's the "99%" problem. Only a few, "1%", can take issues for what they are at face value. If obama were in Mississippi when he said those things and if he had bomb making stuff then he was serious.
Like I said, he was spouting off to get help for his wife and invoked obama as the attention-getter. Nothing more.
Talk about misdirected anger.
10 months is not long enough.
Privacy laws only apply to patients, don't they? If they refused to admit the guy's wife, she wasn't a patient. . . So, let's hear the story. Why wouldn't the hospital schedule surgery for the guy's wife? What kind of surgery? Was this a life-threatening illness issue? If so, I can't say I blame him for being a bit perturbed.
Nothing wrong with his being angry, Miker, but direct that anger to the appropriate person. The President has nothing to do with his wife's illness or his lack of insurance, or the fact that this person is in the situation that he's in!
Yeah, I agree. I was really just commenting on the hospital part of it. I try - fairly successfully - to just ignore the political diatribes on here, but I suppose I should have be more specific in my comment. And, even so, I wouldn't advocate actually blowing up the hospital, either.
Why didn't he go to the Mississippi Tea Bag Party for financial help? Seeings that they so want their minions to refuse to get the medical help that the Affordable Healthcare Act provides for? Why blame the president for his own ignorance?
Yeah that makes sense, send some guy away for making what was perceived as a verbal threat for 10 months but then give another (Bonds) 30 days house arrest for obstructing justice. Whoever said justice is blind was insightful but they forgot to mention that justice is also poor.
What has one got to do with the other? One lied about roids, the other threatened to kill the president and bomb a hospital. Two very different situations. Bonds didn't threaten to end anyone's life, or commit a terrorist act. This retarded redneck did.
Which sort of makes me wonder why he was even bothered in the first place. You can argue that the government should be involved in this or regulate that or whatever, but it's pretty damn hard to argue that the U.S. government has any business at all getting involved in the internal affairs of a professional sport.
Wonder if he's a Tea Bagger.
No doubt he is, that's a no brainer.
wonder if he is a obama supporter waiting for his free ride.
Did you see his pic? THAT is not the face of a typical Obama supporter in Mississippi!!