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Charges Dropped Against Franklin Sain

DENVER (CBS4) - A man accused of threatening a state lawmaker because of her stance on gun control no longer faces charges.

Rhonda Fields
State Rep. Rhonda Fields (credit: CBS)

Prosecutors charged Franklin Sain in February with harassment and attempting to influence a public servant. He told Denver police he sent emails that contained profanity and racial slurs, and left similar voicemails, to state Rep. Rhonda Fields. Fields spearheaded new laws on gun control.

The case was dropped after prosecutors said Fields herself requested that the case be dismissed after Sain agreed to a permanent restraining order. It says Sain must stay at least 100 yards away from Fields.

That means he can still come to the capitol and testify on issues as long as she is not in the room.

The order also does not prevent him from having guns.

Fields' attorney had demanded that stipulation in earlier court proceedings and Fields had testified she feared for her life.

The protection order was not court ordered, rather a deal voluntarily worked out between attorneys.

"The results speak for themselves, and we're satisfied with those results," said Siddhartha Rathod, Sain's Attorney.

Prosecutors insisted Friday they had solid case.

"This dismisal has absolutely nothing to do with the provability of the case or the decision to file charges and has everything to do with Fields' wishes," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Henry Cooper.

Sain's attorney has said the key evidence -- a threatening letter -- could not be linked to his client, and he says the vulgar emails are protected speech.

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