Petition to deport Justin Bieber becomes second-highest ever on White House website

Petition to deport Justin Bieber has become the second highest ever in the three-year history of President Obama's online petition program.

Roger Skrzynski II posted the Bieber petition 30 days ago, saying he did it partly as a way to expose problems with the petition website.

But the petition gained more traction than he imagined.

With more than 260,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon, the petition is ahead of other favorites such as building a "death star" or legalizing marijuana, the Washington Times reported.

The only petition to have gained more signatures was a 2012 plea asking that Westboro Baptist Church be declared a hate group.

Bieber, who turns 20 on March 1, stirred up anger among Americans with his arrest in January.

Charges of drunken driving in his Lamborghini in a drag race in Miami Beach, Florida, was one in a string of incidents, including an assault charge in his native Canada and a Los Angeles investigation into whether he egged a neighbour's mansion, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

The petition asking the White House to deport Bieber drew considerable attention, including from Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who told a radio station that he had three daughters and would love to sign.

The White House said it would respond to the Bieber petition, though it did not say when.