Man accused of threatening the president made similar threats, trial witness says 

PHOENIX (CN) —  A U.S. Marshal who arrested a man accused of making threats to kill the president testified Thursday in a federal trial that the defendant made similar threats to the U.S. attorney’s office in central California two months earlier.

“My involvement with Mr. Ortiz began in August 2024,” Deputy Investigator Vladimir St. Louis told the jury, drawing frustration from public defender Success Carter.

“What about November 2024?” Carter asked in an attempt to steer the testimony. She referred to the period in which Rene Ortiz filed multiple documents in federal courthouses in Phoenix and Tucson seeking, in part, judicial permission to “execute the newly elected POTUS.”

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors discussed a voicemail Ortiz left with judicial staff around the same time in which he demanded, among other things, a hearing with the president, the chief justice of the Supreme Court and other government officials.

Marshals decided not to arrest Ortiz at the time, apparently concluding that he likely suffered from mental health issues. U.S. District Judge Stephen McNamee did not allow Carter to question St. Louis about that decision.

“This case is not about threats to the judiciary,” McNamee said Thursday morning. “It’s specifically about threats to the president. We’re not going to open this up to everyone else who may have been threatened.”

Carter objected, arguing that she should be entitled to probe St. Louis’ assessment of the voicemail because prosecutors had opened the door to the issue. She also moved to strike McNamee’s reference to others who may have been threatened, but the George H.W. Bush appointee denied the motion.

Carter later asked whether St. Louis considered Ortiz a low risk for violence. McNamee again sustained the prosecution’s objection and prevented the question from being answered, citing prior rulings on admissible testimony.

Ortiz hand-delivered documents to the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse in Phoenix on Nov. 5, 2024 — Election Day — that read:

“I, Rene Ortiz, hereby move the court to execute the newly elected POTUS. I chose to execute the newly elected POTUS by firing an M-16A2 service rifle with a magazine of 6 rounds. The court and the defendants were warned to withdraw from their campaign.”

On Nov. 25, 2024, he delivered two more documents to the Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona. Those documents stated, in part:

“The plaintiff petitions the court for him to make an attempt to shot at the candidate with an M-16A2 service rifle with a magazine of 3 rounds from a distance of 300 or 500 yards, the rounds targeting the head, not the ear of the candidate.”

Ortiz’s public defenders say the threats were never serious and that Ortiz poses no risk of violence. They say he is simply a mentally ill man who lashed out for attention.

His wife and two sons, who testified Thursday afternoon, said they’ve watched his mental health decline for years.

His eldest son, Ryun Ortiz, said his father became obsessed with the home computer, spending “every waking minute” filing paperwork.

“Mountains and mountains of paperwork,” he said.

He and Ortiz’s wife, Maria, said they had to constantly remind him to bathe and eat.

Ortiz was upset after being fired from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and his family believed he was drafting lawsuits to challenge his termination. Maria said she had no idea what was in the documents when she drove him to the Phoenix courthouse on Nov. 5, 2024.

Licensed psychologist Jason Frizzell testified that Ortiz suffers from schizoaffective disorder and borderline personality disorder.

“Mr. Ortiz was not entirely grounded in reality,” Frizzell said, describing clinical interviews and multiple assessments. “He had a number of beliefs that were genuinely bordering on delusion.”

Frizzell said Ortiz is obsessed with “angel numbers” such as 33, 300 and 600, and told him he wanted to be both emperor and president of the United States and Mexico.

On cross-examination, Frizzell said Ortiz believed he’d be immune from prosecution for threatening candidates once he himself was elected president.

“It’s illogical on its face,” he said.

Prosecutor Abbie Broughton argued Ortiz remained in control of his actions when he filed the documents and intended the threats to draw attention to more than a dozen civil lawsuits he had previously filed in the two courthouses.

Frizzell said no stable person would believe threatening the president would successfully garner attention for unrelated civil litigation.

Ortiz rested his case at 3 p.m. Thursday. The government will present one rebuttal witness on Monday, after which both sides will make closing arguments.

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