Home of Gregory Broussard in Nicholas Circle east of Hammond. Photo by Brennan David

Hammond resident Gregory Broussard was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court on charges of threatening President George W. Bush, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to a Secret Service agent's affidavit, Broussard threatened to "blow up the White House" and "kill President Bush" while he was being treated at the emergency room of North Oaks hospital on Dec. 29.

A North Oaks social worker informed the Secret Service that Broussard had also requested a ride to the St. James Behavioral Hospital in Lutcher because he had weapons in his vehicle, the affidavit said.

When agents interviewed Broussard, he said he "knows how to make napalm" and is a "pyromaniac" but gave conflicting statements as to whether there were any weapons in his car or home, according to the affidavit.

When agents asked Broussard if he had ever traveled to the site of an assassination, Broussard said he had gone to Baton Rouge on Dec. 27 and placed his hands in the bullet holes on the wall left by Huey P. Long's assassination.

Broussard also told agents he had conducted "reconnaissance" of the capitol building and the governor's mansion, placing himself in the position of both spotter and sniper in order to better protect President-elect Barack Obama when he invites him to attend the Bayou Classic, according to the agent's affidavit.

Broussard said he took photographs around the capitol and governor's mansion and stored them on disks at his home.

When agents asked Broussard for permission to search his home and car, Broussard said he didn't want them to find something he could be arrested for.

Broussard said he would follow the commands of his auditory hallucinations if they spoke to him nicely and that, if the voice of God told him to kill the president, he would do so, according to the agent's affidavit.

The Secret Service informed state police of Broussard's "reconnaissance" around the capitol and governor's mansion, and the police obtained a search warrant for Broussard's car and home.

Police found a camera containing recent photographs of the U.S. Naval Academy and a lease for an apartment in Annapolis, Md., in Broussard's car.

A search of Broussard's home turned up a copy of Obama's "Audacity of Hope" and a wide range of books on the CIA, SEALs, SWAT, aikido and sniper training and techniques, as well as magazines devoted to various guns, rifles and ammunition.

Police found "Shooter," a movie about a sniper, playing in Broussard's DVD player.

A digital storage disk containing images of the capitol and governor's mansion and a Winchester .22-caliber rifle were also found in Broussard's home.

If convicted, Broussard may face a maximum of five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release following imprisonment.