Missouri lawmaker ends restraining order after alleged fight

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri lawmaker has dropped a restraining order he had obtained against a colleague with whom he said he got into a fistfight.

Rep. Courtney Allen Curtis confirmed Friday that he had dropped the action against Rep. Michael Butler.

Curtis said Butler swung at him outside a union reception at a downtown Jefferson City restaurant over a dispute on a contested right-to-work bill. Butler has declined to comment.

Butler's voicemail box was full when an Associated Press reporter called Friday. A message to his Capitol office was not immediately returned.

Both Curtis and Butler are St. Louis-area Democrats.

Curtis was the only Democrat to vote in September in favor of enacting controversial right-to-work legislation that would have banned mandatory union fees.