Kentucky man charged with threats awaiting exam

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A judge has put the case of a Richmond man charged with threatening U.S. Rep. Andy Barr on hold while he awaits psychiatric testing.

U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood on Monday cancelled all deadlines in the case of 40-year-old Russell Little. U.S. Marshals reported that a federal medical center in Butner, North Carolina, won’t have a bed available for Little until Nov. 23.

Along with threatening Barr, prosecutors say, Little also spoke of wanting to kill former congressman Ben Chandler.

The FBI says Little, who has pleaded not guilty, repeatedly phoned Barr’s Lexington office and made "both explicit and direct" threats.

Barr, a Republican, defeated Chandler, a Democrat, in 2013 for the central Kentucky seat.

State police seized a loaded .38-caliber pistol from his car.

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