TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man charged with threatening to kill a Kansas congressman said in federal court Wednesday that he has a “very religious” defense and is now acting as his own attorney, despite a judge’s warnings that he is making a big mistake.
Prosecutors hoped to call U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, the Republican whose Topeka office received the phone call prompting the criminal charge, as a witness Wednesday afternoon.
The trial of Chase Neill, 32, of the northeastern Kansas city of Lawrence, came amid what authorities say is a sharp rise in threats against the nation’s lawmakers and their families.
