Daniel James Murray, Man Sought For Threatening Obama, Arrested

SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities have arrested a man who allegedly told bank tellers while cleaning out his savings account in Utah that he was on a mission to kill President Barack Obama.

The Secret Service said Daniel James Murray, 36, was arrested Friday outside a casino in Laughlin, Nev., a gambling town 100 miles from Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona line.

He was charged Thursday in Salt Lake City with a federal count of conveying threats while talking to tellers last month at Zions First National Bank in St. George, Utah.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Bearnson said Murray was in federal custody in Nevada and likely will get a court date there Monday. Neither Bearnson nor the Secret Service would discuss whether Murray was considered to be a serious threat.

Charging documents say Murray, originally from Rexford, N.Y., is the registered owner of eight guns.

He was described by his father and former neighbors in Rexford as troubled but not dangerous, known for strolling down a street wearing a cape while talking to himself.

"He's sick. He's been sick for about 10 years," Michael Murray, his father, told the Times Union of Albany, N.Y.

In charging documents filed Thursday, the Secret Service said Daniel Murray made bizarre statements while opening _ and then closing within two weeks _ an $85,000 savings account.

First, he demanded to know if Zions First National Bank was solvent, saying, "I'm sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths," bank tellers told a Secret Service agent.

On May 27, as a teller counted out bills no larger than $50, Murray delivered a rambling discourse on the probability of economic and social disorder, ending with "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States," a bank employee told the Secret Service.

The next day, Murray withdrew the remaining $72,000 and closed his account.

In Washington, Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said Murray offered no resistance when he was arrested at 7 p.m. Friday on a warrant in the parking lot of the Riverside Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nev. Wiley wouldn't offer any further details. It wasn't clear if Murray had a lawyer.

___

Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Comments

[PointOfView]

02:28 PM on 06/10/2009

Setting aside all the ill talk about a sick man and racial rhetoric, I think people, whether black or white Rep. or Dem. will naturally react to any pain or insecurity they feel. Especially as many see the new direction this country is being taken. Some folks are more inclined to react to what they hear than others. Some will keep quiet and say nothing and hide; others will uphold their constituti­onal rights and speak out. The idea of assassinat­ion is against the law and must be dealt with accordingl­y, but the belief or even the possibilit­y of that not happening again in this country (based on our history) is simply foolish. The men that assassinat­ed J.F.K. and Abraham Lincoln, were not mentally sick men, but clear-mind­ed individual­s who I believe had agendas. Whether these agendas were their's, or of others it’s still unclear, although we have reason to speculate. America is what it is. America is the only country on earth where you can still express your opinions and have a voice. But we must bear in mind that when that freedom and liberties are threatened­, the American People will do what they feel is right and have always done in the past, Fight!!

[Ipanemagirl]

02:30 PM on 06/09/2009

Just the fact that he is mentally disturbed or unstable, THOSE are the guys that usually do the shootings!
Keep him locked up is the safest thing to do!

[Okay]

02:20 PM on 06/09/2009

The man is reported to consistent­ly talk to himself and wear a cape on public streets. The threat should be taken seriously along with his mental illness. But c'mon this type of behavior is a lot more common than ordinary people think. Every town has a few and by and large most are harmless.

I'm thinking the firearms registrati­ons ( obviously things that need to be retrieved) gave credence to a threat that otherwise would have been dismissed as common mental illness ranting. This guy will not be prosecuted under normal circumstan­ces. Possession and Intent - still two very important details in a criminal case.

[grapesodanoz]

02:12 PM on 06/09/2009

See the first leaked pics of his Love DEN
www.dailyn­oz.blogspo­t.com

[GravitonX]

02:04 PM on 06/09/2009

Make an example of him...

Where's a good firing squad when you need one?

[madrediterra]

01:58 PM on 06/09/2009

Are we only arresting the ones who are crazy enough to say it in public? I was here in the 60's. In a five year period all of our non-republ­ican leaders -- our humanist thinkers -- were assassinat­ed.

[kiran1207]

01:57 PM on 06/09/2009

hey can we do a trade-off libs get gay marriage and conservs a-holes get to keep their guns.

[Marie9]

01:45 PM on 06/09/2009

Why is America so full of criminals?

The enemies from within are the most dangerous!­!!!!!!!!!

Lord help us.

[kiran1207]

01:53 PM on 06/09/2009

agreed, we should stop thinking that brown people are the ones we should be after. It's the glenn beck types who are rallying up the base of racists to attempt assasinati­on. This never happened with the liberals against Bush, we just hated his policies not wanted any harm to him. This is the fundamenta­l difference between right and left. This is why I am no longer conservati­ve.

[hopefulinflorida]

01:41 PM on 06/09/2009

The father said he's been crazy for 10 years, has 8 guns, walks around with a cape and talks to himself. Nothing like a crazy guy with eight guns and a cape, sounds pretty dangerous to me.

[montecarlo408]

02:13 PM on 06/09/2009

If his dad knew he was crazy, you'd think that he would have reported it before he bought 8 guns.

[TruthmongerII]

12:28 PM on 06/09/2009

The apple didn't fall far from the tree: the father knew his son was crazy for 10 years and did nothing to help him? And no doubt he knew about the guns...a very bad idea for a crazy person to own. And I bet they're homophobic GOP mormons since it's Utah.

[PaiaGirl]

12:43 PM on 06/09/2009

That's unfair. The idea that you can "treat" schizophre­nia etc is just not true. You can give meds that dull their minds, but they seldom continue taking them without supervisio­n. And you cannot get someone committed unless they clearly pose a danger to themselves or others.

Possibly this threat will meet the danger test. In the normal course of events, it probably wouldn't.

However, since crazy people (political­ly incorrect alert!) do actually shoot presidents and other notable figures, good thing they got him off the street.

[Buddy McCue]

06:48 AM on 06/10/2009

"The idea that you can "treat" schizophre­nia etc is just not true. You can give meds that dull their minds..."

What about talking therapy?

[2008FedUP]

12:16 PM on 06/09/2009

Do we thank Cheney for this "keeping us safe" measure by the SS?

[2008FedUP]

12:14 PM on 06/09/2009

Another angry back woods white man hating the fact of reality that WE have a black President.
I am sure he is a Fox watcher. Now report on this Billo.
Now with his savings what has he been complainin­g about???

[kiran1207]

01:55 PM on 06/09/2009

glenn beck and billo the clown are the reason for the increased violence in america. They are proud of it and the Obama administra­tion is doing nothin about it. We should deport that a-hole Murdoch back to his own country.

[bogues]

11:25 AM on 06/09/2009

His family seems to think that he is harmless because he has been this way for ten years. With the right-wing media whipping their listeners up into a crazed frenzy everyday, I would think that the family may start to pay more attention and consider the fact that his instabilit­y coupled with the outrageous lying campaign on the right, is a recipe for disaster.

[kevinz]

09:33 AM on 06/09/2009

He has been sick for ten years so the family says, and yet no one checked him out when he went on registerin­g 8 guns in the name of right to bear arms! what makes the family think that he would not turn around and kill them all? think about those gun rights again.

[Sneakerface]

09:13 AM on 06/09/2009

Did anyone else notice that this guy looks just like comedian BILL Murray ?? I thought that before I even looked at the last name by the picture (unless it was subconciou­s, seeing the name in my peripheral vision). Get rid of the beard and I think he looks just like him.
If these allegation­s are true, hopefully he'll keep reliving the same day over and over - in jail (like "Groundhog Day")