The U.S. Secret Service presented a plaque Friday to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office for its assistance in arresting a Stover man who made threats against the U.S. president.
Morgan County deputies took Cameron James Stout, 24, of Stover, into custody March 17 after verifying he had intentions to shoot President Barack Obama.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Stout threatened on several occasions to shoot and kill Obama.
A confidential informant approached a Morgan County sheriff's deputy March 13 and reported Stout had solicited him the previous day for a rifle and assistance in his plan to shoot the president in the next few weeks, the affidavit stated.
The confidential informant, a former Aryan Nation member, reported Stout said he was going to kill the president. According to the confidential informant, Stout said he didn't have a high-powered rifle and needed to obtain one. The confidential informant told Stout he could put him in contact with a high-ranking member of the Aryan Nation to assist him in obtaining a rifle and to provide Stout with information that would assist him, according to the affidavit.
On March 14, Stout again discussed shooting the president while he and the confidential informant worked on four-wheel ATVs. Stout allegedly drew two diagrams of the Washington, D.C., area and his shooting locations that he had identified through research, which he gave to the confidential informant, who turned them over to law enforcement. Stout also allegedly told the confidential informant he owns a .270-caliber Weatherby rifle with a high-powered scope that he had loaned to another person, but he had the rifle back and planned to use it to commit his crime.
Stout and the confidential informant met on March 16 then again on March 17 with an undercover law enforcement officer purporting to be the confidential informant's superior in the Aryan Nation. Stout allegedly stated his plan was to set up at Crown Center in Kansas City and to shoot the president the next time he came to Kansas City. Stout wanted the undercover officer to provide him with transportation to and from Kansas City. Stout allegedly stated he was a competent shot up to 200 yards.
Tammy Dickinson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said in a news release the charge contained in the complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Secret Service and the Morgan County Sheriff's Department investigated the incident.