Gun charge for man arrested by Obama home

A member of a prominent Chicago family faces a felony gun charge after being arrested when he approached security barriers outside Barack Obama's home.

The US Secret Service insisted he never posed a threat to the Democratic presidential candidate.

Omhari Sengstacke, 31, of Chicago, was apparently intoxicated but not armed when he was arrested about 6:30am as he neared the barriers posted with no-access signs a block from the South Side home, said police spokesman Daniel O'Brien.

Police found a gun and a bulletproof vest in his car nearby.

Sengstacke did not utter any threats against Mr Obama or make any threatening gestures before his arrest, and he never breached the outermost perimeter of multiple security layers, US Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said.

Asked if Sengstacke may have wanted to hurt Mr Obama, his brother, Robert Sengstacke, said: "I seriously doubt that."

In a statement, the Sengstacke family said they have "passionate support" for Obama and that Sengstacke "had no intent to harm Obama nor his family".

The fact that Sengstacke did not have the firearm with him at the time of his arrest "is proof that he had no ill intent toward the presidential candidate", the family said.