Roman Otto Conaway, the 50-year-old Army vet who allegedly wanted to launch a war between Muslims and Christians, threatened to kill President Barack Obama and announced on his Facebook page plans to burn a Koran, is sane enough to stand trail, his lawyer said this week.
Last time we checked in with Conaway, he was undergoing a mental health evaluation, a review which he demanded as a condition of his surrender to police in September. On Friday, his lawyer advised the court that they would “stipulate to conclusions in psychiatric report” and that Conaway was competent at this time to proceed. The court found that Conaway “is presently competent to stand trial and is able to assist in his defense of this case.”
During an eight-hour standoff with police in September, Conaway allegedly claimed a bulky belt he was wearing and three storage containers on his property were packed with explosives. His standoff reportedly started after a county court barred him from contact with his grandchildren. After that decision, he also allegedly called a local mosque and said that he wanted to begin a war between Christians and Muslims and said he thought that Obama threatened the Rev. Terry Jones, forcing him to cancel his planned Koran burning in Florida on Sept. 11.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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