Idaho man charged with Obama assassination attempt

A man from Idaho has been charged with attempting to assassinate US President Barack Obama.

Oscar Ortega-Hernandez is accused of opening fire on the White House with an assault rifle last Friday.

He had previously described the President as the "devil" and "anti-Christ".

Businessman Monte McCall had dealt with Ortega-Hernandez in recent weeks, and said he had been talking about the "end of the world".

"He was like a person that's mentally troubled…(but) he seemed really nice," he said.