Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Bush

A Glendale man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to charges that he threatened to kill President Bush in a 1989 telephone call to the White House. As part of the plea agreement, U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. sentenced Karl Schmidt, 46, to 18 months--the time he already had served.

Schmidt will remain in custody because he still must face a probation violation charge in Colorado, Assistant U.S. Atty. Nathan Hochman said.

Federal officials said that Schmidt called the White House on Nov. 9, 1989, and said he was “sick and tired of what Bush is doing” and that he was “going to blow the President’s brains out.” Schmidt, who is disabled with a back injury, said he made the call because he had not received Social Security benefits. The White House transferred the call to Secret Service agents, and Schmidt was arrested by Glendale police after he repeated the threat and gave agents his name and address, federal officials said.