Jury convicts Lawrence man for murder threat against Kansas Republican congressman
A federal jury convicted a Lawrence man Thursday for threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner.
Chase Neill faces up to 10 years in federal prison for one felony count of threatening a public official. The charge stems from voicemails he left in June for LaTurner, a second term Republican congressman who represents much of eastern Kansas, including part of Wyandotte County.
LaTurner, who testified the previous day about his efforts to increase security for himself, his staff and his family, thanked law enforcement for their work on the case.
“My family and I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s office, Capitol Police, FBI, and other federal and local law enforcement officers for doing their jobs with honesty and integrity. Violence and threats of violence have no place in our society,” LaTurner said in a statement Thursday evening.
The case comes amid an increase in threats and attacks against public officials, including the high profile attack on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their home last year.
Neill’s guilty verdict followed a three-day trial in which Neill insisted on representing himself despite federal Judge Holly Teeter’s warnings against it.
The Lawrence resident was ruled competent to follow court proceedings and stand trial following a psychological evaluation. However, an earlier order from a magistrate judge raised serious concerns about Neill’s mental health. Those concerns included what his mother described as changed behavior following a head injury within the last five years.
In the June voicemails, Neill threatened to kill LaTurner and all other members of congress but said it would happen by an “act of God.” In the voicemail, left on June 6, Neill declared himself “son of God,” the “Messiah” and “Ephraim” after making claims about conversations around witchcraft in Congress.
“I will kill you but the insurance will say it is an act of God and that it is covered by the freedom of speech,” the voicemail said.
Because he was representing himself, Neill directly cross-examined LaTurner Wednesday. In his questioning he quoted the Bible and asked LaTurner whether it had occurred to him that the references to himself as the son of God and the killing coming by an act of God indicated to him that he was delivering a message in the voicemail.
Before Neill began representing himself, his public defenders argued in opening statements Tuesday that Neill never represented a true threat to LaTurner and that his weapons are “meteors and plagues.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 6:29 PM.
