This Sept. 10, 2013, file photo shows Sunny, foreground, and Bo, Portuguese water dogs belonging to President Barack Obama and his family, walking with White House employee along the West Wing of the White House in Washington. A North Dakota man who allegedly traveled to the nation’s capital to kidnap a dog belonging to President Barack Obama has been arrested. D.C. Superior Court documents say Secret Service agents interviewed Scott D. Stockert of Dickinson, North Dakota, after hearing from Secret Service agents in Minnesota that he was on his way to Washington to kidnap a “pet” owned by the first family. AP FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON — Officials in Washington say they’ve arrested a North Dakota man who allegedly traveled to the nation’s capital to kidnap a dog belonging to President Barack Obama.
D.C. Superior Court documents say Secret Service agents interviewed Scott D. Stockert of Dickinson, North Dakota, at a Washington hotel after receiving information that he was on his way to the capital to kidnap a “pet” owned by the first family. The first family has two Portuguese water dogs, Bo and Sunny. Officials arrested Stockert after finding weapons in his car.
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A court document says that Secret Service agents interviewed Stockert on Wednesday after they received information from a Secret Service office in Minnesota that Stockert “was on his way to Washington, D.C., to kidnap the pet that belongs to the first family.” During the interview, agents asked Stockert whether he had access to any weapons, and Stockert acknowledged having two guns in his truck. Agents searched the truck and found a shotgun and rifle as well as a machete, a billy club and ammunition. The court document says Stockert was not a registered gun owner and that he was charged with violating District of Columbia laws on carrying a rifle or shotgun outside a home or business.
According to court documents, Stockert told agents that he was “Jesus Christ” and that his parents were President John F. Kennedy and actress Marilyn Monroe and that he came to Washington to announce he was running for president. His attorney, Michael Madden, did not immediately return an emailed request for comment late Friday. His telephone voicemail was not accepting new messages.
Online court records show Stockert was ordered released from custody Friday but must wear an ankle monitor.
The first family’s search for a dog to join them at the White House was widely publicized. On election night in 2008, then President-elect Obama said that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, had “earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.” Bo, a male Portuguese water dog, joined the family in 2009 and was a gift from then Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. Sunny, a female Portuguese water dog, joined the family in 2013.
The dogs have been a regular presence at White House events. Late last year, they accompanied first lady Michelle Obama to receive the White House Christmas Tree and to welcome children to the White House during a preview of the home’s holiday decorations. The decorations included larger than life replicas of the two dogs.
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