TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man charged with threatening to kill a Kansas congressman is harmless, believing he has a special relationship with God and his weapons are "meteors and plagues," not "knives and guns," a defense attorney argued Tuesday during a federal criminal trial.

The trial for Chase Neill, 32, began amid what authorities says is a sharp rise in threats to the nation's lawmakers and their families. Prosecutors say Neill became fixated on U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner and threatened to kill him in a June 5 voicemail left with the Republican congressman's Topeka office.

Prosecutors argue tha...