Man gets 33 months for threatening Obama in poem

A man who acknowledged threatening US President Barack Obama in a poem has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison. The poem described a fatal sniper shooting of the president.

A man who acknowledged threatening US President Barack Obama in a poem has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

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Johnny Logan Spencer apologized for writing the poem, which described a fatal sniper shooting of the president.

The 28-year-old said in federal court in Louisville on Monday that he was upset over his mother's death and had fallen in with a white supremacist group that had helped him kick a drug habit.

US District Judge Joseph H McKinley Jr called Spencer's writing of the poem an extremely dangerous thing. Spencer will be on supervised release for three years after he completes the 33-month sentence.

The poem, titled "The Sniper," was posted on a website in 2007 and again in 2009 after Obama took office.