A man was arrested in Los Angeles after making a threat on George Bush's life last week during a phone call to an ex-girlfriend, who alerted the police.
A bail hearing was scheduled today for Charles Madrid, a 50-year-old radio technician who allegedly threatened the US president's life.
"Committing this murder is not a murder, it's making a difference for the people," court papers say the former girlfriend, Wanda O'Hickey-Way, quoted Madrid as saying. "I'm going to kill who needs to be killed."
According to an affidavit, LAPD officers arrived at his home last Tuesday, and one asked Madrid, "Do you want to kill the president?"
"Yes," Madrid replied.
He was charged with knowingly and willfully threatening to take the life of the president.
Madrid lives with his mother, Rachel Madrid-Hall. She conceded Madrid has a temper, but said: "He's not a maniac. I think he was speaking out of frustration."
She said he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago, his job at a radio station was cut back to part-time and his bicycle - his only means of transportation - recently was stolen off the front porch.
"Sometimes life just kicks you in the teeth," Madrid-Hall said. She said her son blamed Bush for the war in Iraq and the faltering US economy, among other things.