A former country club bartender who was charged with threatening to kill Republican House Speaker John Boehner was found not guilty by reason of insanity in federal district court in Ohio on Monday.
The man, Michael Hoyt, was experiencing a “manic episode with psychotic features” when he told authorities last year that believed Boehner created Ebola, and that he planned to shoot the congressman with an automatic pistol, said the man's lawyer, Candace Crouse, told NBC News.
According to a criminal complaint filed in November, Hoyt dialed 911 on Oct. 29, then told an officer from the Deer Park Police Department that he was fired from his job at the Wetherington Golf and County Club — where Boehner was a member — but "didn’t have time to put something in John Boehner’s drink."
Hoyt "told the officer that he was Jesus Christ and that he was going to kill Boehner because he was mean to him," the complaint says.
After an evaluation earlier this year, a forensic psychologist with the Bureau of Prisons concluded that Hoyt’s "behavior and statements were grossly disorganized, erratic and delusional," Crouse said, adding that Hoyt was "unable to appreciate” the "wrongfulness of his acts."
After a bench trial, Federal Judge Timothy Black agreed with evaluation’s findings and found Hoyt not guilty.
A hearing scheduled for next month will determine if Hoyt — who has been on medication since his arrest last year — is a danger to others, Crouse said. If he is not, he could be released.