WYOMING, Ohio — His voice cracked as he clutched the lapel of his jacket.
It's the tan jacket American college student Otto Warmbier was wearing Feb. 29, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea, where the then-21-year-old from Wyoming, Ohio, confessed to stealing a poster, begged for
mercy and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
On Thursday, Otto’s dad, Fred Warmbier, wore the same jacket to a news conference, the first public address since Otto, in dire medical straits, was returned to Cincinnati on Tuesday night.
Otto, now 22, is in stable condition, according to hospital officials, “but has suffered a severe neurological injury.”
His father did not elaborate.
"We're trying to make him comfortable," his father said. "... I'm so proud of Otto, my son, who has been in a pariah regime for the last 18 months, brutalized and terrorized. And now he's home with his family. I can share my spirit with his spirit, and I'm just so happy for that."
It was an emotional 20-minute news conference Thursday, where Fred Warmbier alternately praised his son’s courage, thanked President Trump and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and blasted former president Barack Obama for not doing more.
Warmbier said he is proud of his son’s “adventurous side,” the same trait that led Otto to take a trip to North Korea in the first place.
At times, he slipped into past tense.
“Otto is a sweet, loving, kind, person, and that’s what we loved about him,” Warmbier said. “That’s what his teachers loved about him...”
Otto was a University of Virginia student when he visited North Korea with a tour group. He was detained as the group was preparing to leave the country and charged with engaging in anti-state activity.
He was sentenced in March 2016 after a televised trial in North Korea. On Tuesday, he was flown back to Ohio.
North Korea said it released Otto for “humanitarian” reasons. Fred said he doesn’t believe that at all. And he doesn’t care.
“We’re not burdened with whatever North Korea says or does any longer,” he said.
Warmbier he doesn't believe his family will ever know the real reason Otto was released.
"I don't think we'll ever find the answer," he said. "North Korea doesn't do anything out of the kindness of their heart."
Wyoming is a small, affluent community of about 8,400 people just north of Cincinnati. The poverty rate is only 2.2%. The schools are among the best in the state.
Warmbier, a small business owner, spoke to reporters at Wyoming High School, Otto’s alma mater. Otto graduated in 2013 as salutatorian. He was a standout soccer player. He thrived at the school, said social studies teacher Todd Siler.
“I think it’s the perfect place to celebrate him,” Siler said. “This is home.”
Cindy Warmbier, Otto's mom, was supposed to attend the news conference, but she decided to stay at the hospital with her son, Warmbier said.
“She knows that Otto is a fighter,” he said, “and she and I firmly believe that he fought to stay alive through the worst the North Koreans could put him through.”
The crowd outside of the Wyoming Civic Center shouted "We love you!" and "Otto strong!"
The crowd was expecting Warmbier to drive through, but then he stepped out of the SUV.
The crowd of residents tightened around him, still clapping and shouting “We love you!” Otto’s siblings, Greta and Austin, stepped out of the car too, and community members rushed to hug them.
“I’m honored that our community loves Otto and we love you,” Warmbier said to the crowd. “You’ve been so supportive of us throughout this whole ordeal.”
The city came together to show solidarity, both with the family's joy that their son has arrived home, and their pain when they learned he would arrive in a coma.
When Lisa Bernheisel, an associate pastor at a church in Wyoming, heard the news that Otto Warmbier was returning home, she knew she wanted to be there to support the family.
“We've been holding (Otto) in prayer throughout these 18 months that he's been imprisoned,” said Bernheisel. “With all the people I know who know him, I needed to be present at this time.”
Before Otto Warmbier returned home, the Warmbiers kept a low profile, hoping that avoiding the spotlight could help bring their son home. The city tried to respect that, Wyoming City Council member Jenni McCauley said.
“The way all the residents have responded — the city, the schools, everything we've done to make them comfortable throughout this tragic, but wonderful, homecoming,” said McCauley. “We're just waiting to hear what that is and then what the family would like to do. We'll continue to give support in any way that we can.”
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