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Charlotte man to stay in jail after accusations that he threatened president

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 21-year-old Charlotte man charged with using Twitter to threaten to kill President Obama will stay in jail for now.

A U.S. magistrate judge ordered Donte Sims held without bond while prosecutors continue to work on his case.

A Secret Service agent testified Tuesday that Sims admitted sending the tweets because he said he hates President Obama.

“Ima hit president Obama with that Lee Harvey Oswald swagg," said one tweet.

Another said, "Well Ima Assassinate president Obama this evening !... Gotta get this monkey off my chest while he's in town -_- "

And when the person getting those tweets asked Sims if he was serious, a tweet said, "As a heart attack."

Sims' attorney tried to suggest that Sims was being sarcastic and that he'd cooperated with police, telling them he was sorry and didn't mean what he'd tweeted.

A psychologist testified that Sims has several disorders, including attention deficit disorder, that may explain why he's tweeted more than 33,000 times in three years.

Sims' mother and stepfather were there also, and his stepfather testified that he'd never known Sims to be violent or threaten anyone.

But Judge David Cayer called Sims' threats "unambiguous" and ordered him held without bond.