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Ohio Bartender Threatened to Poison and Shoot House Speaker John Boehner

By Glynn Cosker
Editor, In Homeland Security

John Boehner’s former bartender allegedly planned to kill the House Speaker by poisoning his wine, according to a grand jury indictment made public Tuesday. The alleged threats occurred in late October; it’s unclear as to why officials postponed the publication of the court order until this week.

The indictment, filed in Ohio’s U.S. District Court on Jan. 7 names the accused offender as 44-year-old Michael R. Hoyt.

Hoyt was an employee of the Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester, Ohio, of which Boehner was a member and regular attendee. Hoyt was fired from the country club in the fall.

Threat to Poison John Boehner
Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester, Ohio. Courtesy: Facebook

Soon after his dismissal, Hoyt told an Ohio police officer that he “did not have time to put something in John Boehner’s drink,” according to the indictment.

The court paper also states, “Hoyt told the officer he was Jesus Christ and that he was going to kill Boehner because Boehner was mean to him at the country club and because Boehner is responsible for Ebola.” The complaint further states that Hoyt told police that he had a loaded Beretta .380 automatic pistol and was going to use it to shoot Boehner because Hoyt believed Boehner was “evil” and “the Devil.” Police also said that Hoyt had twice emailed Boehner’s wife, Debbie.

A search of Hoyt’s Cincinnati residence uncovered a notebook containing Boehner’s name and the word “Ebola.”

Hoyt is currently incarcerated and under mental evaluation and treatment. He had a psychotic episode two years ago, was prescribed medication, but he has “voluntarily stopped taking” it for the past six months. According to the complaint, the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police claim that Hoyt “poses a current and ongoing credible threat” to Boehner.

Michael Steel, a representative for Boehner, said that the speaker is “aware of the situation and sincerely thanks the FBI, the Capitol Police and the local authorities in Ohio for their efforts.”

See the official U.S. District Court complaint here.

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