MONTPELIER, Vt. — A man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he sprayed liquid manure on a marked U.S. Customs and Border Protection car after confronting an agent about why he wasn’t doing more to arrest people in the country illegally.
Mark Johnson, 53, of Alburgh, entered the plea in Vermont Superior Court in North Hero to state charges of disorderly conduct and simple assault of a law enforcement officer with fluids. He declined to comment afterward.
Johnson told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his livelihood was hurt by people working on Vermont farms who could be in the country illegally. He said he asked the agent why he wasn’t doing more to arrest people working in the U.S. illegally.
Customs and Border Protection says the job of the border patrol is to keep people from entering the country illegally. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for enforcing immigration law inside the country.
Johnson, who has a long history of minor brushes with the law, said he didn’t know the car was nearby when he turned on his manure spreader.
“While passing by my vehicle Mr. Johnson then engaged the PTO shaft to his trailer and covered my vehicle in cow manure,” the affidavit said.