Bartender charged with threatening to kill House Speaker Boehner to go on trial in Ohio
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2014, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. A former Cincinnati-area bartender charged with threatening to kill Boehner is going to trial. Michael Hoyt is charged with threatening to kill Boehner, either with a gun or by poisoning his drink. His nonjury trial is scheduled for Monday, July 13, 2015, in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (The Associated Press)
A former Cincinnati-area bartender charged with threatening to kill House Speaker John Boehner (BAY'-nur) is going to trial.
Michael Hoyt is charged with threatening to kill Boehner, either with a gun or by poisoning his drink. His nonjury trial is scheduled for Monday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.
Court documents indicate Hoyt has a history of mental illness. A judge found Hoyt competent to stand trial. But Hoyt's attorneys have said they plan to argue he was insane at the time of the alleged offense.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hoyt was indicted in January. A separate criminal complaint 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."