A Fairfax lawyer wrote a threatening message to President Obama because he believed that the government was trying to ruin his life and force him to become a spy for Israel, according to court documents.
Adam Albrett, 45, was charged in May with threatening to kill Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity last week in federal court in Alexandria.
U.S. District Judge James Cacheris accepted the insanity plea, meaning he acknowledged that Albrett was not mentally competent when the alleged crime occurred. Albrett was then committed for further psychiatric treatment and evaluation.
Dr. Neil Blumberg, a Maryland psychiatrist, wrote in an evaluation for the court that the “escalating severity” of Albrett’s delusions “prevented him from being able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts.”
Albrett believed that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, with the support of Obama and the U.S. government, was destroying his “interpersonal relations, work and financial success” in order to leave Albrett with “no other alternative but to become a spy for Israel against the Arab and pro-Palestinian community,” according to Blumberg’s report.
Albrett was arrested after the White House Correspondence Office received a message on May 14 that read:
“This is not a joke. Inform the FBI, CIA, U.S. military and DOJ that I am going down to D.C. to blow the brains out of Obama unless he vacates the White House and I am going to shoot up the place and Rahm if I see him…This is not a joke…I am going to leave Mara at home with water and some food…”
According the report, the e-mail was an attempt to get attention.
“I knew this was offensive but I needed help,” Albrett told Blumberg. “I didn’t intend any harm.” Albrett said he included Mara, his dog, “because I was going to sleep and I wanted people to laugh.”
Albrett also believed Mossad and the CIA killed his father, that a patent application of his had been stolen and that he was being monitored, according to documents.
Blumberg’s evaluation was based on Albrett’s past medical records, court records and interviews with Albrett and his family. It details a history of psychiatric troubles and says Albrett was only irregularly taking his medication.
Albrett is still listed as a member of the New York bar, though he has not worked as a lawyer since 2001. He has been unemployed since November 2001, except for working on a patent for a device that lets users interact with radio content.
