Retiree miffed by Secret Service visit
| Tuesday, Oct 13 2009 06:38 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Oct 14 2009 11:03 AM
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Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Bill Sekeres holds his dog babe in front of his Northeast Bakersfield home. Sekeres received visitors from the U.S. secret Service after word got out he "may or may not have" threatened to "take out" the President and Speaker of the House during idle chatter over dinner. Someone overheard the chatter and called authorities.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Bill Sekeres received visitors from the U.S. secret Service after word got out he "may or may not have" threatened to "take out" the President and Speaker of the House during idle chatter over dinner. Someone overheard the chatter and called authorities. Sekeres, a military veteran, says he would never do that but he "may or may not" have said it.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Caltrans worker Jobe Jackson wades through branches that blew off eucalyptus trees partially blocking the north bound Highway 99 exit to Panama Lane Tuesday afternoon. In the background is C.H.P. officer James Nabors who also responded to the call. Not pictured is Caltrans employee Joe Cabral who assists in clearing the branches. Wind photos
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Caltrans worker Joe Cabral and C.H.P. officer James Nabors work together to clear branches partially blocking the north bound Highway 99 exit to Panama Lane Tuesday afternoon
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Parents and students at Berkshire Elementary School cover themselves from blowing dust that is kicked up from a windstorm Tuesday afternoon.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Joseph Delerio tries to keep blowing dust out of his eyes as his friend Darian Zerr huddles close to shield the wind. The couple was in a church park across the street from Ridgeview High School during Tuesday's windstorm.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Joseph Delerio, left, and Darian Zerr find a way to shield the wind. The couple was in a church park across the street from Ridgeview High School during Tuesday's windstorm.
Bill Sekeres of Bakersfield is in a bit of trouble with the U.S. Secret Service.
The 73-year-old retired executive may or may not have threatened to "take out" the president of the United States during idle dinner conversation recently at a Bakersfield restaurant.
Sekeres says he can't recall whether he also included Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in his alleged threat because he isn't sure he made a threat, and if he did make a threat, well, he didn't really mean it.
"Truthfully, I can't remember if I said this or not -- that if I ever get a terminal illness, I'm going to take out Obama and Pelosi," Sekeres said. "I may have. I may not have. I don't know," he said. "If I did, it would have been in jest."
In any case, someone apparently overheard him and took him seriously enough to alert authorities. On Friday, two agents from the Secret Service office in Fresno drove to Bakersfield to have a not so idle chat with Sekeres.
"It is our job to investigate all threats against the president," said Gil Lejarde, resident agent in charge of the Fresno office. "We did speak to him. Right now we're still investigating."
The way Sekeres remembers it, he and his wife were having dinner with three other couples at Rio Bravo Country Club. "All four of us are conservative ex-service people. We kid around a lot," Sekeres said. "You know how it is, a group of friends just sitting around."
Sekeres said it's "ridiculous" to imagine that he could be capable of posing a serious threat against two highly placed political figures. "How stupid to think that at my age, I could do something like that," he said. "What kind of place are we living in?"
Sekeres suggested that the visit by the Secret Service was a sign that the country is going down the wrong path.
But Charles White, assistant special agent in charge at the Secret Service's San Francisco office, said the agency has always investigated real and imagined threats made against the commander in chief.
"We've always done this. It's not a new responsibility," White said. "We are responsible for the safety of the president, the vice president and former presidents.
"Shame on us if we don't at least check it out."
White said his agents have been "pretty busy" with this kind of thing, but he declined to say whether the number of threats against President Obama are higher than those investigated during the administration of George W. Bush.
All Americans have the right to free speech, White said. But the right is not absolute.
Yelling fire in a crowded theater and threatening to kill the president are still frowned upon.
