Murderer Who Planned To Assassinate President Obama Sentenced To Death

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A man who murdered a senior citizen as part of a plot to assassinate the President Of The United States has been sentenced to death.

According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

(James) McVay walked away from a minimum security unit at the state penitentiary on July 1, 2011. He shoplifted then drank alcohol and cough syrup, then spent the night under a bridge in Sertoma Park. He awoke, asked Satan for guidance, then saw and slid under Schein’s partially-opened garage door.

He stabbed her eight times then stole her car. When he was apprehended in Madison, Wis., hours later, he told the arresting officer that he had planned to kill and steal his way to Washington, D.C., to kill President Barack Obama.

There is no shortage of right-wing plots to remove President Obama from office, but what McVay was planning was something much more sinister. According to the Secret Service, the president, no matter which party they are from, is the most threatened person in the country.

Many of the people who make threats against the president are mentally ill. Many Americans are more sensitive to threats to President Obama because of the race based attacks that Republicans have used against him as both a candidate and an officeholder. President Obama has faced an environment of personal hatred from his political opponents. This extremism can easily embolden a mentally ill person who can find an entire media complex that will reaffirm and feed their delusions.

Individuals are responsible for their own actions, but a 24 hour cable network that has dedicated itself to attacking this president has not helped things. There are many conservatives who make a good living by demonizing Obama. Their tactics have helped to polarize our politics, and create an ugly situation that President Obama has had to govern through.

Obama’s historic time in office is almost over, but the McVay case is a reminder that threats remain.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association