2001-09-26: Man convicted of Bush threat

Boulder Daily Camera - September 26, 2001
Man convicted of Bush threat
September 26, 2001

A Boulder homeless man faces five years in prison after being convicted Tuesday of threatening to kill President George W. Bush.

A jury took one hour to deliberate before handing down a guilty verdict for Stephen Paul Linton, 48, in U.S. District Court. A sentence hearing has not yet been set.

Jeff Dorschner of the U.S. Attorney's office said Linton's threats, including that he was "a terrorist capable of mass destruction," may have been taken more seriously by jury members in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

"There is never a time to threaten the President of the United States," U.S. Attorney John Suthers told the court. "People need to realize they could spend time in federal prison for one threatening statement."

Linton authored a three-page handwritten letter to the "Boulder County Court Building" that was mailed March 20 in a manila envelope along with a key and the title to his truck.

In the letter, Linton expressed anger over recent tickets he received because he had no car insurance and expired plates.

He went on to write: "I'm going to be heard. I'm going to make a statement. I prepare to assassinate that prince of a president, George 'Wawa' Bush ... The first Bush boy to come home in a box. His Daddy will be so proud.

"One man/one bullet ... I will be heard!"

Linton signed the letter with his name and, in apparent reference to the JonBenét Ramsey ransom note, "Victory, S.B.T.C: Society of Bums, Throwaways and Castoffs."

The undetermined meaning of the acronym at the end of the ransom note has been the subject of much speculation among those following the Ramsey murder investigation. Boulder police said Linton is not connected to the case.

Linton arrived at the Boulder County Justice Center a week after the letter was received to deliver a complaint letter to the district attorney's office when he was detained by sheriff's deputies. Linton reiterated his intention to kill the president during an interview with Secret Service agents, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Linton, who has a history of mental illness according to court documents, was found competent in July to stand trial. He acted as his own attorney.

Also known to use the last name Cheshier, Linton has a criminal history in Colorado and Texas, according to police.

Linton, a former U.S. Post Office employee who is on disability, lived in Lakewood prior to moving to a Boulder apartment in 1997.

He was evicted in the fall of 1999 from the Osage 100 apartments in the 4900 block of Thunderbird Circle, said property Manager Carol Long.

Linton's run-in with federal authorities does not surprise her, she said.

Long took Linton to court after he refused to leave his apartment when his lease expired. She said he threatened her during those proceedings.

"He pointed his finger and got really dramatic and said this wasn't the end of this," Long said.

She said the court bailiff walked her to her car after the hearing.

"It seemed to me a foolish thing to do right there in open court," Long said.

Threatening to kill Bush was "not a good thing" either, Dorschner of the U.S. Attorney's office said. The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, he said. "But when they go to a direct threat to the President of the United States, that's where the First Amendment ends."

Contact Christine Reid at (303) 473-1355 or reidc@thedailycamera.com.