Man charged with trying to assassinate Obama: Official

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A 21-year-old Hispanic man arrested after shots were fired near the White House was charged on Thursday with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama, a justice department official said.

Oscar Ortega-Hernandez was arrested by Pennsylvania state police on Wednesday following last week's shooting incident. Obama and his wife Michelle were in California at the time of the incident, and no one was injured.

Ortega-Hernandez - from the western state of Idaho - was charged in a US federal court in Pittsburgh, where a judge ordered that he remain in police custody, the official said. He could face life in prison if convicted.

According to court filings obtained by the media, one of the suspect's friends said Ortega-Hernandez saw Obama as the 'devil' and was 'preparing something'.

The witness said the suspect had said Obama 'needed to be taken care of' and had pledged he would 'not stop until it's done'.

Ortega-Hernandez was due to be transferred 'within a few days' to Washington, federal prosecutors said.

He was arrested at a hotel near Indiana, Pennsylvania, after gunshots were heard late Friday near the White House, about 600 to 700 yards (meters) away on Constitution Avenue, Secret Service special agent Edwin Donovan said.