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This undated file photo released by the Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff's Department shows Michael Hoyt. The former Cincinnati-area bartender charged with threatening to kill House Speaker John Boehner is going to trial. (AP Photo/Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, File)
CINCINNATI » A former Cincinnati-area bartender who said he heard the devil’s voice telling him House Speaker John Boehner was "evil" is set to go on trial in federal court on charges he threatened to kill the Republican lawmaker.
Michael Hoyt has pleaded not guilty to a charge of threatening to kill a government official. He is scheduled for a nonjury trial in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. Authorities have said in court documents that he threatened to kill Boehner with a gun or by poisoning his drink.
Court documents also indicate that Hoyt, of the Cincinnati suburb of Deer Park, has a history of mental illness. But Judge Timothy Black in April ruled that Hoyt was competent to stand trial, based on a report from a medical facility where Hoyt was sent for evaluation and treatment.
Hoyt’s attorneys have said they plan to argue he was insane at the time of the alleged offense. He could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Hoyt was indicted in January. A separate criminal complaint filed in November 2014 said he was fired last fall from a suburban Cincinnati country club where Boehner is a member. Authorities say Hoyt said he began hearing the devil’s voice after his firing, telling him Boehner was "evil."
Hoyt was treated for a psychotic episode about two years earlier and later stopped taking prescribed medication, according to the November complaint. The complaint said Hoyt came to authorities’ attention when he called 911 on Oct. 29 and told officers dispatched to his home that he had been fired from the country club where Boehner was a member and "did not have time to put something in John Boehner’s drink.
Hoyt also said he had a loaded gun and was going to shoot Boehner, the documents added.
