White House Shooter Riled About Pot Law: Prosecutors

Prosecutors believe Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, who was arrested after allegedly shooting the White House in 2011, may have been motivated by his unhappiness with US marijuana policy, the AP reports. The Idaho 22-year-old "expressed anger toward the government regarding the continued criminalization of marijuana," they say in a newly filed court document. He wanted "to punish and kill the president, who he believed was the head of a government that was oppressing its citizens in various ways," they add.

They also say Ortega-Hernandez practiced firing the assault rifle used in the attack at a "desolate crater" near his Idaho home for six months, shooting at things like a VCR, a stereo speaker and amplifier, and an empty ammo case, according to a witness. Ortega-Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to attempted assassination and other charges, and is awaiting trial. (More Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez stories.)