Man admits writing Obama assassination poem

A Kentucky man admitted writing and posting on a white supremacist website a poem threatening the assassination of US president Barack Obama.

Johnny Spencer, 28, of Louisville entered an open plea - admitting guilt without a deal with prosecutors - in US District Court in Louisville.

He will be sentenced on November 2. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison, a £165,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

US Secret Service Special Agent Stephan Pazenzia said that Spencer wrote and posted the poem, The Sniper on a web page.

The poem describes a gunman shooting and killing a "tyrant" later identified as the president.