South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem signed an executive order Friday that prevents the state from doing business with particular telecommunications companies owned or operated by ‘evil foreign governments.’

The order, according to Noem’s office, blocks business with companies associated with the governments of China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela. 

In addition, Noem’s office said the order, known as Executive Order 2023-02, requires that ‘every state contract include a clause certifying the contractor is not owned, influenced, or affiliated with these countries.’

‘It is critical that we protect South Dakotans from evil foreign governments,’ Noem said after signing the order, which will take effect next week. ‘This order ensures that these countries cannot leverage telecommunications or state contract procurements to gain access to crucial state infrastructure and data.’

‘Maintaining the cybersecurity of South Dakota state government is necessary to continue to serve South Dakota citizens,’ the order stated. ‘The Chinese Communist Party has increasingly purchased vital agricultural land necessary to the nation’s food independence and real property near critical infrastructure, such as real property near a military base in Grand Folks, North Dakota.’

Additionally, the order stated that South Dakota is ‘home to critical infrastructure vital to national security’ and that ‘cybersecurity vulnerabilities may lead to real-world consequences for South Dakota residents.’

‘Countries including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have engaged in increasingly aggressive cyber-attacks on the United States assets, including Iranian financially-motivated ransomware operations, Russian phishing attempts, Chinese targeted extractions of corporate data, cyber-attacks on crucial ports since 2013, and the cyber and physical targeting of electric grid stations in Washington, North Carolina, and other states in late 2022,’ the order noted.

Last November, Noem made headlines when she signed an executive order prohibiting state agencies – or those who contract with them – from accessing the China-owned social media app TikTok and warned the Chinese Communist Party is ripping information from users.

‘It’s off our networks. It’s blocked off of our servers. Any state employee, anybody who contracts with the state of South Dakota, anybody who uses any of our systems no longer will be able to download or utilize this app because of the national security threat that it is,’ Noem told Fox News at the time.

Accessing the app will be a criminal offense, she said, adding TikTok poses a threat to the Mount Rushmore State and the personal data of all South Dakotans, and by extension, Americans.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this article.

One week out from a highly contested vote to determine who will head the Republican National Committee, allies of incumbent GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel are engaging in ‘religious bigotry’ by targeting challenger Harmeet Dhillon’s faith, according to RNC members and other sources who spoke to Fox News Digital.

Whispers that Dhillon’s opponents are raising concerns about her being a Sikh of Indian heritage have quietly rocked the RNC chair race behind the scenes in recent weeks. Now, some RNC members have decided to speak out on the record for the first time, describing themselves as frustrated and disappointed with the focus on Dhillon’s religious beliefs.

Lori Hinz, an RNC committeewoman from North Dakota, on Thursday night sent an email obtained by Fox News Digital to all 168 members of the RNC detailing how McDaniel supporters are raising Dhillon’s religion in conversations.

‘I’m sure many of you have read the stories or heard about the religious bigotry being pushed among our committee in order to disparage and discredit one of our own, my friend, Harmeet Dhillon,’ Hinz wrote. ‘This has been weighing on me for three weeks, and after praying about it, I decided I wanted to address it directly with you because I am one of the people who was targeted by Ronna McDaniel’s Whip Team with religious bigotry toward Harmeet.’

Hinz, who supports Dhillon for chair, explained that race came up during a phone call Dec. 28 with Tamara Scott, a committeewoman from Iowa who chairs the RNC’s Faith Advisory Board and backs McDaniel.

According to Hinz, Scott said she and others at the RNC were ‘worried the gains made by the Faith Advisory Board would be in jeopardy should Harmeet Dhillon win the RNC Chair race.’ Hinz then asked why she would feel that way, to which Scott replied, ‘Because of Harmeet’s Sikh beliefs — she is not a Christian.’

‘I was shocked, disappointed and frankly disgusted that someone was willing to use bigotry as a tactic to whip votes for their preferred candidate,’ Hinz wrote. ‘Here she is telling me that Harmeet Dhillon is unqualified to lead the RNC due to her religious beliefs?’

Hinz added that she admired Scott, hopes she adjusts her style of whipping votes and said she cares about Dhillon’s leadership abilities but not her religious beliefs. To become chair, a candidate needs a majority of support, or at least 85 votes, among the RNC’s 168 members.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, McDaniel condemned bigotry, noting she’s a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and called for party unity.

‘I wholeheartedly condemn religious bigotry in any form,’ McDaniel said. ‘We are the party of faith, family and freedom, and these attacks have no place in our party or our politics. As a member of a minority faith myself, I would never condone such attacks. I have vowed to run a positive campaign and will continue to do so.’

In an email to Fox News Digital, Hinz explained that she first tried to speak to Scott about this issue before sending the email to her colleagues in an effort to ‘seek reconciliation.’

‘Religious liberty is the bedrock of our founding fathers’ vision for America,’ Hinz said. ‘Our United States Constitution and our Republican platform allow Harmeet and me and Tamara to practice our respective religions as we choose.’

Hinz said she was frustrated with McDaniel and RNC members for denying that any targeting of Dhillon’s faith was taking place. She said MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who is also running for committee chair, was ‘unfairly taking fire’ for a tactic that ‘originated with Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel’s Whip Team, period.’

Scott is not a member of McDaniel’s Whip team, according to a GOP source close to the chairwoman. But recent reports have said Lindell supporters are also targeting Dhillon’s religious beliefs.

When reached for comment, Scott told Fox News Digital she was saddened by accusations of bigotry leveled against her.

‘It’s unfortunate and truly hurtful to hear that a fellow RNC member would misuse a private conversation and completely twist it against me for personal or political gain,’ Scott said. ‘As chair of the RNC Faith Advisory Board, I am proud to have led the charge, alongside fellow RNC members, to engage with voters from all faiths and religions.

‘Ronna McDaniel has been swift in condemning any tactics of bias, bigotry or disparagement toward committee members,’ she continued. ‘I wish Harmeet Dhillon would do the same.’

Beyond the phone call between Hinz and Scott, there have been other instances of McDaniel supporters focusing on Dhillon’s faith as a factor in the increasingly heated campaign.

In Alabama, Chris Horn, a GOP commentator and chair of Alabama’s Tennessee Valley Republican Club, has been asking questions about Dhillon’s faith and sending around a clip of Dhillon leading a Sikh prayer at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

According to a longtime north Alabama GOP operative who supports Dhillon, Horn began disseminating the clip and the fact that Dhillon is a Sikh at the request of his fiancée, an RNC staffer who worked for McDaniel in the past.

However, in an interview with Fox News Digital, Horn adamantly denied being prompted by anyone, including his fiancée, to ask what he described as legitimate questions and ‘due diligence’ about someone vying to be the Republican Party’s next leader.

‘It’s not a bigoted approach when people don’t know about someone or something and ask questions,’ he said. ‘If you’re a Sikh, OK, let me find out.’

Horn explained he and other Republicans in the South didn’t know Dhillon, an attorney and a former Trump campaign adviser from California, so they wanted to find out more information, such as whether she’s done outreach to minority communities. One of the key questions they had concerned her faith.

‘I dare defend my right to ask and answer questions that all Americans want to know,’ he said. ‘What do you believe, and how does that impact my freedom, family and faith here and around the world?’

Horn said the GOP is the party of faith and freedom but also of ‘Judeo-Christian values,’ arguing that Sikhs are persecuting Christians in India. He called on Dhillon to disavow and separate herself from such alleged persecution.

The north Alabama operative, a member of the state’s GOP, described the focus on Dhillon’s faith as a ‘nothingburger,’ saying people just want results and Dhillon is the one to deliver them.

‘Harmeet will operate the RNC accordingly and in compliance with the Republican platform,’ the source said. ‘Ronna doesn’t do that. There’s no acknowledgment of the platform whatsoever.’

The Alabama Republican Party said in a recent statement it ‘cannot support or endorse Ronna McDaniel for RNC chair and declare our vote of no-confidence in her leadership.’ 

A few other state parties have done the same, along with dozens of major donors announcing support for Dhillon.

McDaniel has faced growing backlash for leading a disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans won fewer seats in Congress than many experts predicted, leading voices within the GOP to call for a change in party leadership.

Under her leadership, Republicans also lost control of the House in 2018 and both the White House and Senate in 2020.

On Tuesday, McDaniel’s re-election campaign released a letter signed by over 150 major Republican donors endorsing her.

McDaniel’s re-election campaign spokesperson Emma Vaughn said last week in a statement that RNC members support McDaniel ‘because of her unprecedented investments in the grassroots, election integrity and minority communities and for taking on Big Tech and the biased Commission on Presidential Debates.’

Dhillon recently told Fox News Digital the RNC is ‘in a difficult situation,’ which she blamed on leadership for refusing ‘to take responsibility for failures.’

Last month, 107 RNC members signed a letter endorsing McDaniel, far more support than she needs to win. It’s unclear where the tally currently stands. The party will choose its leader at its winter meetings next week.

According to one veteran RNC member from Oregon, the focus on Dhillon’s faith is a signal that the party needs a new direction.

‘As the only Republican National committeeman who was born in communist China, [which] persecuted my Christian faith during Mao’s Cultural Revolution before finding freedom in America, it is gut-wrenching to watch a fellow immigrant and Asian-American RNC member, Harmeet Dhillon, attacked for her faith,’ Solomon Yue told Fox News Digital. ‘The irony is that Harmeet has been defending civil rights in court as a constitutional lawyer.

‘To keep this republic,’ he continued, ‘we must demonstrate our ability to defend religious liberty under the First Amendment by rejecting religious bigotry and replacing the current RNC chair.’

Pennsylvania state Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd will be formally installed as chief justice in a ceremony set for Friday afternoon in a downtown Pittsburgh hotel.

The daughter of a steelworker who grew up in Ellwood City, Todd has been serving for months as the first woman to be the court’s top-ranking jurist. She administered the oath of office to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in Harrisburg on Tuesday.

Chief Justice Max Baer’s death in late September 2022 elevated Todd to the court’s top spot because she has served longer than any of her colleagues.

A Democrat, Todd was elected to the high court in 2007 after eight years on Superior Court, where she handled civil and criminal appeals from county courts. The 65-year-old graduated from Pitt Law, and she has worked as a lawyer for 18 years, including five years as a litigator for USX Corp.

Todd lives in Pittsburgh and has three children.

FIRST ON FOX: Embattled Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., is facing a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) complaint alleging she is continuing ‘to reap the benefits’ of the University of California at Irvine’s ‘subsidized affordable housing’ even though she is not a full-time staff member.

The Committee to Defeat the President — an anti-Biden political action committee (PAC) that started in 2013 as the Stop Hillary PAC — filed its FEC complaint against Porter on Friday.

‘Embroiled in scandals, Rep. Porter needs to be held accountable to American voters, and the Committee will stop at nothing to demand accountability,’ Ted Harvey, chairman of the Committee to Defeat the President, told Fox News Digital.

‘It’s time to drain the Washington swamp for good, and that starts with calling out left-wing hypocrites like Porter,’ Harvey said.

‘Once again, woke progressives like Rep. Porter are happy to receive government-funded salaries, benefits, and now subsidized housing for themselves, while driving our economy into the gutter and doing everything possible to squelch opposition,’ Dan Backer, counsel to the Committee to Defeat the President, told Fox News Digital.

‘Porter should pay her fair share like everyone else,’ Backer added.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the FEC complaint filed by the committee, which alleges Porter continues ‘to reap the benefits of subsidized affordable housing in a pricey housing market’ after taking office in 2019.

‘Prior to becoming a Congresswoman, Porter was a law professor at the University of California Irvine (‘UC Irvine’),’ the complaint said. ‘As a UC Irvine law professor, she took advantage of a housing benefit for university employees and purchased a home in University Hills, an academic community on the UC Irvine campus developed to provide affordable housing to ‘eligible full-time employees.’’

‘The median home values in University Hills are significantly below the median home price in Irvine and there is a waiting list for this significant housing benefit,’ it said. ‘In fact, while Porter was being recruited by UC Irvine in 2009, she joined the University Hills waiting list and delayed joining the faculty until housing became available in 2011.’

The committee wrote that eligibility ‘for University Hills residency is dependent on UC Irvine employment’ and pointed out ‘Porter was elected to Congress in 2018, took office in 2019, and has been on unpaid leave from UC Irvine since 2019.’

‘Thus, although Porter has not been an active ‘full-time’ employee at UC Irvine since 2019, she continues to reap the benefits of subsidized affordable housing in a pricey housing market,’ the complaint said.

Porter’s campaign did not immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but UC Irvine did, and said Porter is a ‘UCI faculty member on an approved leave without pay.’

‘Faculty members on approved leaves without pay remain UCI employees, and as such they can maintain their homes in University Hills,’ a UCI spokesperson said. ‘Those who take these leaves without pay generally do so to perform outside work in academia or industry … or in public service, as is the case with Porter.’

The spokesperson also rejected the argument that UCI provided ‘subsidized’ housing. ‘Home prices there are below market value because of the university maintains ownership of the land and leases it to the homeowners – because of this ground lease, homeowners own their houses but not the land beneath it. As a result, home prices remain below-market.’

Porter’s newly-announced bid for Senate is off to a rocky start as the congresswoman finds herself embroiled in scandal. The congresswoman has found herself taking heat for how she treated a veteran and former staffer in July for allegedly violating ‘office protocols’ by catching COVID-19.

Porter was also accused of making rude and racist comments to staff and ‘ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment.’

Porter responded to the allegations by trying to soften her image amid her tumultuous campaign kickoff.

In just her first week in the fray, the California congresswoman responded to the allegations of a toxic work environment during an interview Thursday, where she said she is ‘willing to expect people to work hard.’

‘But let’s be clear, of course I want their best effort. Of course, I want my best effort,’ Porter said on the ‘Pod Save America’ podcast. ‘The American people deserve no less.’

‘I regret if this employee feels disgruntled. She finished her term in her fellowship. It was a two-year fellowship. I enjoyed working with her,’ the congresswoman continued, referencing the allegations first posted by the Dear White Staffers Instagram account. ‘And I’m excited to continue to get to work with my staff on this campaign and on the official side.’

‘I’m willing to expect people to work hard. I work hard, and I think that’s what the American people should expect,’ she added.

Porter also made headlines in October when text messages between her and Irvine, California, Mayor Farrah Khan, were published that showed the Democrat Senate hopeful berated the city mayor and insulted the city police department.

The texts followed a fight that broke out at the congresswoman’s July 2021 town hall that saw the man Porter lives with arrested.

In the texts, Porter criticized Khan by saying she would not call the mayor after Julian Willis was arrested after he allegedly punched a pro-Trump protester, giving the protester a bloody nose.

‘You can lecture me on professionalism. And see what happens,’ Porter wrote after she famously wore a Batgirl Halloween costume to the House of Representatives on the same day Democrats voted for a resolution on ground rules for the impeachment inquiry surrounding then-President Donald Trump.

Porter also trashed the Irvine police department after the arrest, calling the force a ‘disgrace’ and that she ‘will never trust them again.’

Democratic leaders in major cities nationwide have already moved forward with bans on natural gas stoves even as the Biden administration has pumped the brakes on similar regulations at the federal level.

Cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and New York City — which are collectively home to more than 10 million Americans — have enacted varying restrictions on natural gas hookups impacting gas-powered furnaces, ovens and stoves. 

Leaders of the Democrat-led cities have argued that transitioning away from natural gas would help achieve climate and net-zero ambitions.

‘New York City is proof that it’s possible to end the era of fossil fuels, invest in a sustainable future, protect public health and create good-paying jobs in the process,’ former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in December 2021. ‘If the largest city in America can take this critical step to ban gas use, any city can do the same.’

Following his remarks, de Blasio signed a law requiring the phase-out of fossil fuel usage in new buildings. The law, which goes into effect this year and mandates new buildings are fully electric by 2027, made New York City the largest city and first large cold-weather city to phase out fossil fuel combustion in new construction.

The New York law came months after Seattle’s city council had already unanimously approved a ban on gas appliances in new construction, which passed in June 2021.

‘We are facing a climate disaster. It is up to Seattle and other cities to make the bold changes necessary to lower our greenhouse gas emissions,’ former Democratic Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said. ‘Electrifying our buildings is an important step in the many actions needed to curb climate pollution.’

In December, Los Angeles became the largest city in California to ban natural gas appliances in new buildings in a law that takes effect this year, citing health and climate impacts. Former Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an ordinance on his final day in office last month requiring new buildings to be completely electric beginning in April.

‘Today, we write a new chapter in building a more sustainable, equitable and just future for all Angelenos,’ Garcetti said in a statement. ‘We are putting communities first and walking lighter on this land.’

Last week, the Biden administration walked back comments from officials that it would consider a federal ban on gas stoves after widespread criticism. Days earlier, a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission told Bloomberg that ‘any option is on the table’ and that unsafe products can be banned, noting that gas stoves were a ‘hidden hazard.’

A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in December tied 12% of childhood asthma cases to gas stoves. 

However, critics have noted the study was partly funded by RMI, a nonprofit research firm that advocates for aggressive green policies and works to ‘transform global energy systems across the real economy.’ They have also argued that restricting natural gas usage would lead to significantly higher heating and energy costs for consumers.

‘Any efforts to ban highly efficient natural gas stoves should raise alarm bells for the 187 million Americans who depend on this essential fuel every day,’ the American Gas Association said in a statement Jan. 10. ‘Natural gas utilities have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 69% since 1990 and help homeowners reduce their carbon emissions 1.2% every year.

‘The use of natural gas has reduced power sector emissions to 40-year lows and, as an essential backup fuel, has enabled the growth of renewables.’

South Dakota lawmakers on Friday dismissed a proposal that the state constitution ban ballot measures from being reconsidered if they failed in the previous election.

The Republican-controlled House State Affairs Committee rejected the proposed constitutional amendment after lawmakers said it relied on vague language and unwieldy implementation. One Republican criticized its interference with citizens’ ability to directly change laws in South Dakota, which was the first state to enshrine the ballot measure process.

The proposed constitutional amendment, which would have prevented rejected ballot initiatives from appearing in the next election, would have needed to gain a majority in the next election to be enacted.

Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch, who spearheaded the effort, brought the proposal after voters rejected a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana last year, but legalization advocates say they plan to put the proposal back on ballots in the next election.

‘The voters just said no. Can’t we respect the will of the voters for at least one election cycle?’ Deutsch said.

The Republican-controlled Legislature has tried in recent years to curtail the ballot initiative process after progressive measures, such as Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana legalization, have found favor with voters.

But Deutsch’s proposal struggled to gain support, even with his fellow Republican lawmakers.

Opponents argued it would result in countless lawsuits because of the amendment’s wording: to limit ballot measures that are ‘substantially similar’ to prior measures. Other opponents urged caution when amending the state’s constitution and limiting a form of direct democracy.

‘I have hesitations on what this does to election law,’ said Republican Rep. Becky Drury. ‘This impedes on people’s right to bring measures.’

The Legislature is also considering a bill, proposed by Attorney General Marty Jackley, to make it a felony for ballot petition circulators to commit perjury.

Jackley said the proposal would strengthen election laws by instituting a criminal punishment. He pointed to a 2014 case in which he attempted to prosecute a Republican Senate candidate for perjury for misrepresenting her candidate nominating petitions. The state Supreme Court overturned the convictions.

But Rick Weiland, who started an organization that operates ballot measure campaigns, including a campaign to place abortion rights in the state constitution, said bills like Jackley’s would have a ‘chilling effect’ on ballot measure campaigns.

He said, ‘It’s more about intimidating people that want to get involved in direct democracy.’S

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday refused to answer reporter’s questions about the classified documents found at President Biden’s Delaware home or the president’s comment that he has ‘no regrets’ about his handling of these materials. 

During a press briefing, Jean-Pierre announced Biden is retreating to his home in Rehoboth Beach for the weekend. But when she was asked if his trip home had anything to do with the classified documents that were found at his Wilmington residence, Jean-Pierre dodged the question and referred reporters to the White House counsel’s office or the Department of Justice for new developments.

‘I’m not going to comment on that piece at all from here. I’m just going to continue to be prudent and consistent and respect the Department of Justice process,’ Jean-Pierre said.

Another reporter asked a follow-up question about a statement Biden made while touring California to observe storm recovery efforts on Thursday. 

‘We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,’ Biden said. ‘We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department. We’re fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.’ 

He added: ‘I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there. I have no regrets. I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s no there there.’ 

Asked what he meant, Jean-Pierre refused to comment further. 

‘I’m not going to get into specifics, or I’m not going to go beyond what the president has said,’ she told reporters. 

‘I will reiterate from here … basically what he said to all of you, many times at this point, that he does indeed take classified information seriously, he does indeed take classified documents seriously. I’m just not going to go beyond that,’ she added. 

Jean-Pierre refused to comment on additional follow-up questions, letting ‘the president’s words stand for itself.’ 

The White House said Biden attorneys discovered classified documents and official records on four separate occasions — on Nov. 2 at the offices of the Penn Biden Center in Washington, on Dec. 20 in the garage of the president’s Wilmington, Delaware, home, and on Nov. 11 and 12 in the president’s home library.

Biden previously lambasted his predecessor over his possession of such sensitive records. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland last week appointed Robert Hur, a former Maryland U.S. attorney, to serve as special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s inquiry into the documents.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

As a senator in the 1970s, Joe Biden tanked then-President Jimmy Carter’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency over the nominee’s illegal possession of classified documents.

Carter chose Ted Sorenson to serve as his CIA director in 1977.

Sorenson had admitted to taking boxes of classified records home with him after leaving the White House in 1964, and using the materials for his work in writing a biography of former President John F. Kennedy. Sorenson’s admission to this came in affidavits used in cases involving the Pentagon Papers.

At the time, Biden considered the affidavit and joined with Republicans to block Sorenson from being confirmed by the Senate. Biden also suggested Sorenson may have violated the Espionage Act.

During Sorenson’s confirmation hearing, Biden said the ‘real issue’ was ‘whether Mr. Sorensen intentionally took advantage of ambiguities in the law, or carelessly ignored the law.’

‘If he did so, can he now bring the activities of the intelligence community within the strict limits of the law?’ Biden asked. ‘We will expect that in the future of intelligence agencies. If that is to be the case, then we must hold the Director — DCI — accountable as well.’

Carter eventually withdrew Sorenson’s nomination, though Sorenson defended himself by saying his ‘handling of classified information was at all times in accordance with the then-existing laws, regulations and practices,’ according to a 1977 Washington Post report on the withdrawal of his nomination.

Decades later, Biden finds himself under special counsel investigation for his improper retention of classified records from his time as vice president during the Obama administration.

Attorney General Merrick Garland last week appointed former U.S. attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the president’s possible unauthorized removal and improper retention of classified documents and records discovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., and in his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware.

Classified records were found inside the Washington, D.C., offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank on Nov. 2, but the discovery was only disclosed to the public last week. A second stash of classified documents were also found inside the president’s garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and over the weekend, additional classified records were found inside the president’s home.

The White House has said it was cooperating with that DOJ review, and maintains it will continue its full cooperation with Hur’s investigation.

A federal jury has convicted a man who admitted to making threats against the life of a Kansas congressman. 

Chase Neill, 32, was found guilty of threatening a public official after leaving a menacing voice message for Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner.

Neill — a native of Lawrence, Kansas — was arrested last year after leaving the voicemail at LaTurner’s office on June 5 in which he stated, ‘I will kill you.’

Neill was found guilty after representing himself at the trial, where he claimed he was a messenger from God. 

While he did admit to leaving the voice message, Neill explained that he was warning LaTurner that he would be struck down by the almighty, not threatening to kill him personally.

‘This is not me saying, ‘I’m going to chase you down with a knife,’ or something like that,’ Neill said.

Despite being found competent enough to argue in his own defense by the federal judge, Neill spent significant time in court discussing his concerns about aliens and malicious magic.

Neill faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Pamela Neill, his mother, told reporters through tears, ‘He never raised a hand on anybody.’