Fla. Atheist Allegedly Attacks Roommate With Butter Knife for Looking Like Jesus; Demands Atheist Attorney
A Florida atheist accused of attacking his roommate with a butter knife for resembling Jesus is requesting he be represented by an atheist attorney.
Gustav Potthoff, 51, reportedly requested on Tuesday that he be granted an atheist attorney to defend him as he faces aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges. The accused told a judge in Orange County that he should be allowed to have an atheist attorney because "it's just my human rights and everything else." "I'm allowed to be with someone of my own kind," he added.
The judge told Potthoff that if he would like to request a specific attorney, he'll have to pay for the legal service with his own money. Otherwise, he'll be receiving a public defender. "It's a sacrilegious thing," Potthoff, who is reportedly indigent, replied to the judge, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
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Potthoff's roommate, Raymond Hernandez, told Orange County police that on Monday, he was watching television when his roommate, Potthoff, hurled a glass cup at him from the kitchen. The cup missed Hernandez and hit the wall. Then Potthoff reportedly attacked Hernandez with a butter knife, claiming the man looked like Jesus.
According to The Huffington Post, Potthoff did not mention the Jesus part when he relayed his side of the story to police, but he also reportedly changed his story several times. Police found a broken glass and a butter knife on the floor of the men's Pine Hills apartment, which they collected for evidence.
Pottoff also denied to police that he threw a glass at his roommate.
The media outlet notes that this is not Potthoff's first run-in with the law. The 51-year-old atheist was previously arrested for calling in a fake bomb threat to the FBI, claiming he did so because his family and attorneys would not leave him alone.
