Man with rifle arrested for threatening Bush

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York man sitting in a car and carrying a loaded rifle, a machete and a container of gasoline was charged Friday with threatening to kill George W. Bush after expressing a romantic interest in the former U.S. president's eldest daughter, prosecutors said.

Benjamin Smith, 44, of Pittsford, New York, was arrested in Manhattan by the U.S. Secret Service, according to a criminal complaint.

"Bush's gonna get her," Smith yelled as he was taken into custody, according to the complaint. Later, when asked about his marital status, he told officers that he was divorced and "working on a relationship with Barbara Bush."

In a preliminary hearing, assistant attorney Andrea Griswold told Judge Henry Pitman that the government believes Smith was referring to the former president's daughter and not Bush's mother, who has the same name.

According to federal law, it is a crime to threaten a current or former president.

On Thursday, the man's mother called the police to report that she had found a threatening note in the house she shares with her son and that a rifle was missing, the complaint said.

"I'm going to work for George W. Bush and the Pentagon," the note said, according to the government. "I have to slay a dragon, and then Barbara Bush will be mine."

Smith's defense attorney, Peggy Cross-Goldenberg, said that the note and Smith's statements do not constitute a "real threat."

The judge said it was "unclear" whether the jury would find Smith guilty.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax)