A federal court jury convicted a Kansas man who insisted that a death threat he made against U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner was a message from God, amid what authorities have said is a sharp rise in threats against members of Congress and their families.
\nJurors found Chase Neill, 32, of Lawrence, guilty of\u00a0a single count of threatening a U.S. government official.\u00a0The presiding judge instructed jurors that to find Neill guilty, they had to conclude that a reasonable person would find that he had made a true threat and intended to either intimidate LaTurner or interfere with his work as a Republican congressman representing eastern Kansas.
\nNeill acted as his own attorney and\u00a0cross-examined LaTurner\u00a0on the witness stand Wednesday.\u00a0Neill testified Thursday\u00a0that he was a messenger from God and he passed along a message from God threatening LaTurner for ignoring concerns about sorcery, wizards, extraterrestrials and a war for people\u2019s souls
\n\u201cYou cannot cloak yourself in religious belief and justify such a threat,\u201d federal prosecutor Stephen Hunting said in his closing remarks. \u201cThere is a line you cannot cross.\u201d
\nNeill sat calmly as U.S. District Judge Holly Teeter read the jury\u2019s verdict, which came after about two hours of deliberation. He politely declined to have the jury polled and, when asked whether he had more about the case to discuss, he said calmly, \u201cNo, your honor.\u201d
\nAs a marshal handcuffed him, his mother, Pamela Neill, who had watched the three-day trial, told him, \u201cI love you.\u201d
\nTeeter scheduled Neill\u2019s sentencing for April 11. He could face 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
\nThe judge had Neill give his testimony Thursday as a narrative from the witness stand because he was representing himself. Neill interrupted his comments to make sure documents were projected onto four big screens on a wall behind him and to confer with the judge and prosecutors about what evidence would be allowed. Prosecutors did not cross-examine him.
\nNeill admitted in court that he left the June 5 voicemail and others with more death threats the next day. But he said he was conveying a message from God that LaTurner and other officials faced death by an act of God, such as a tornado or hurricane, for attacking God\u2019s creation.
\n\u201cThis is not me saying, \u2018I\u2019m going to chase you down with a knife,\u2019 or something like that,\u201d Neill said in his closing argument.
\nHis mother, fighting back tears, told reporters upon leaving the courtroom, \u201cHe never raised a hand on anybody.\u201d
\nThreats against members of Congress\u00a0have increased\u00a0since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In October, an intruder severely beat former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s husband with a hammer in their San Francisco home.
\nLocal school board members\u00a0and\u00a0election workers\u00a0across the nation also have endured harassment and threats. Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this week arrested a failed Republican legislative candidate over a\u00a0series of shootings\u00a0targeting elected Democratic officials\u2019 homes or offices.
\nHunting told jurors that it was reasonable for LaTurner and his staff to take Neill\u2019s words seriously as threats.
\nLaTurner said in a statement after the verdict: \u201cViolence and threats of violence have no place in our society.\u201d
\nNeill said his concerns about a war for souls were sparked by a\u00a0May 13 story\u00a0on the Kansas Reflector news site about a legislative debate in which a western Kansas lawmaker urged colleagues to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly\u2019s veto of a measure that would have restricted public health officials\u2019 power in epidemics following the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nRepublican state Rep. Tatum Lee was quoted as saying, \u201cThe war is real you all. We are fighting for the soul of our nation.\u201d
\nNeill told jurors he values his soul and was required by God to act when he \u201cheard the sound of the trumpet.\u201d
\nHe also showed jurors a LinkedIn page for himself, saying he dealt with \u201cmatters concerning over 400 million lives lost with high sorcery.\u201d
\nNeill testified that in 2018, \u201cGod came to me very directly,\u201d without elaborating. A U.S. magistrate judge said in an August order refusing to release Neill from custody that Neill had suffered a head injury four or five years ago \u201ccharacterized as a head fracture.\u201d
\nBut the trial judge concluded last month that Neill was capable of following what goes on in court and assisting his lawyers, making him mentally competent to stand trial. She granted his request to act as his own attorney, starting Wednesday.
\n\u201cI\u2019m really trying to explain how I interact with God, and it\u2019s a difficult explanation,\u201d Neill told jurors during his testimony Thursday. \u201cI apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n