Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) – A former Cincinnati-area bartender who said he believed House Speaker John Boehner was the devil was found not guilty by reason of insanity Monday of threatening to kill the Republican lawmaker.

Federal Judge Timothy Black found Michael Hoyt not guilty of a charge of threatening to kill a U.S. official.

Authorities had accused Hoyt of threatening to kill Boehner, either with a gun or by poisoning his drink.

The judge found that Hoyt was insane at the time of the offense and has ordered him back to a federal medical facility for evaluation.

A hearing is scheduled for next month to determine if Hoyt could be a danger to others.

Court documents indicate that Hoyt, of the Cincinnati suburb of Deer Park, has a history of mental illness. But Black in April ruled that Hoyt was competent to stand trial, based on a report from a medical facility where Hoyt was sent for evaluation and treatment.

Hoyt was indicted in January. A separate criminal complaint filed in November 2014 said he was fired last fall from a suburban 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.

Hoyt was treated for a psychotic episode about two years earlier and later stopped taking prescribed medication, according to the complaint. The complaint said Hoyt came to authorities’ attention when he called 911 on Oct. 29 and told officers dispatched to his home that he had been fired from the country club where Boehner was a member and “did not have time to put something in John Boehner’s drink.”