Profiles

White House Suspect Fought MMA

And was "textbook case" of schizophrenia, says doc.

In July, four months before he allegedly fired an assault rifle at the White House, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez made his debut as a mixed-martial-arts fighter in Idaho—and pummeled his opponent in an easy victory. A Monday New York Times profile offers a revealing glimpse into Ortega-Hernandez’s mind. The fight was a rare victory in an otherwise troubled life. Before his arrest, he had been acting increasingly strange, including a 45-minute speech on politics at his birthday party, and a video he made in September begging Oprah to book him because, he said, “I am the modern-day Jesus Christ.” One doctor tells the Times that Ortega-Hernandez appears to be “a textbook case” of schizophrenia.