JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri lawmaker says he's pleased that a colleague dropped a restraining order against him, but says the man was trying to hurt his reputation.
Rep. Courtney Allen Curtis confirmed Friday he dropped the restraining order against Rep. Michael Butler. Curtis and Butler are St. Louis-area Democrats.
Curtis says Butler swung at him Jan. 19 outside a union reception held at a downtown Jefferson City restaurant over a dispute on a right-to-work bill.
Butler said in an email Saturday he's pleased "at the outcome of this legal matter" but disappointed in Curtis and others who helped with what he called "a political attempt to harm" his reputation.
Curtis was the only Democrat to vote in September in favor of enacting right-to-work legislation that would have banned mandatory union fees.
Curtis said Saturday the restraining order wasn't political.