Pat Dollard

Tweet

An Idaho man accused of firing two shots at the White House last week has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama or his staff.

Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, made his first court appearance before a federal magistrate in Pittsburgh on Thursday, one day after he was arrested at a western Pennsylvania hotel. He will be taken back from a federal court in Pittsburgh to face the charges in Washington, D.C.

Ortega will remain in federal custody at least until a magistrate in Washington can determine if he should remain jailed until his trial on the charge, which carries up to life in prison.

Ortega is an OccupyDC protester who had been living at the group’s camp.

His criminal record ranges from domestic violence, drug charges, and assaulting a police officer.

U.S. Park Police said that before the shooting Ortega had been spending time with the Occupy D.C. protesters.

Police were called by his western Pennsylvania hotel after a desk clerk there recognized him and called police, leading to his arrest.