Evergreen City Council Member Pleads Not Guilty to Threatening Police Officer

A city council member in Evergreen has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of using his local radio show to threaten a police officer who pulled him over.

WALA-TV reports that Evergreen City Council member Luther James Upton entered the plea on Wednesday. He was indicted on a charge of making threatening interstate communications in November.

Upton allegedly went on a radio show he hosts in May urging Evergreen officials to “get rid” of an officer who was only identified by initials in the indictment.

The defense contends Upton’s statements weren’t a real threat, and they were protected by the First Amendment anyway.

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