An East Bay father says he’s not altogether surprised his son is accused of trying to scale the White House fence.
Lincoln Miner says his son has been suffering from mental illness for years. He says Alex Miner is a Marine veteran who served on the front lines in Afghanistan and has never been the same since.
He’s been trying for years to get his son help.
"He’s got some serious issues, paranoid issues," Lincoln Miner said. "Maybe it’s gone from PTSD into something else. He’s served our country and came back not quite the way he went. I know he’s not who he was, and I don’t think it’s his fault."
On Monday, 29-year-old Alex Miner of Walnut Creek was arrested in Washington, D.C., after trying to scale the fence in front of the White House. A tourist captured the arrest on camera.
According to charging documents, Alex Miner told investigators President Trump was the anti-Christ, and he had hoped to make his way into the Oval Office and slap Trump in the face.
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"If he really wanted to harm the president, he’d probably would have gotten a weapon," Lincoln Miner said. "He didn’t have one."
Lincoln said he’s been trying to get help for his son for a long time, but like so many families of the mentally ill, couldn’t force him.
"I want professional help for him to find out what’s going on, and I think he does too," Lincoln said.
He said something needs to change in this country to make it easier for families of the mentally ill to get into treatment before things get out of hand.
"He’s a good kid, a kind kid," Lincoln said. "He’s got a great heart."
