Bobby Fischer is an interesting man. A cult hero, in fact.
The problems he had with the government are true. They arose because he went to Yugoslavia without permission (was denied a visa because of UN sanctions against Yugoslavia) to play in a rematch against Boris Spassky.
From bobbyfischer.com:
"On September 1, 1992, Bobby Fischer came out of his 20 year retirement and gave a press conference in Yugoslavia. He pulled out an order from the U.S. Treasury Department warning him that he would be violating U.N. sanctions if he played chess in Yugoslavia. He spit on the order and now faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he returns to the U.S. In addition, he must forfeit his $3.65 million to the U.S. Treasury and forefeit 10% of any match royalties earned. On September 30, Bobby Fischer began his re-match with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia. The match was organized by banker Jedzimir Vasiljevic. On November 11, Fischer won the match with 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws. He received $3.65 million for his winnings and Spassky received $1.5 million."
One of the things which made Fischer a cult hero (aside from beating Spassky and the Russian computers in 1972) was the fact that he refused to defend his title. All the greats of the period (Karpov, Kasparov) are doomed to forever sit at the chess table awaiting his return. One of the great pseudo-problems of the 20th century. Who would have won?
Seems the American champions turn out to be eccentric indeed. Paul Morphy, the other American who became world champion, went nuts when he returned from Europe after beating the European champions of the era.
If Fischer comes back to the US, there would probably be legal proceedings. I'm sure he could beat them. He's staying abroad to protect his wealth. I seriously doubt he stated those remarks as he has been a recluse all of these years.