Kentucky lawyer references assassinated governor in threat against Beshear, police say
A Louisville lawyer was charged with threatening Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear after allegedly referencing an assassinated governor in a Facebook post before saying he hoped people would shoot at Beshear, police said.
James Gregory Troutman, 53, was charged with terroristic threatening on Wednesday after he made multiple statements on Facebook about Beshear, according to Kentucky State Police. Troutman’s attorney disputed the charge.
Troutman made the posts from an account named Greg Troutman, police said, and they traced the account back to Troutman. The first statement was made on April 16.
“Maybe some should ask Beshear in a press conference about his thoughts on William Goebel,” Troutman said in the post, according to police. “For those of you who don’t know the history . . . it’s a good read . . . ”
Goebel was the 34th governor of Kentucky. He was elected in 1899 but was shot by an assassin the day before he was sworn in. He died four days later. He is the only U.S. state governor to ever be assassinated while in office.
Troutman admitted to making the statement on Facebook while being questioned on April 16, police said. Police received another report of a separate comment Troutman made about Beshear on Facebook just days later.
“There’s a rally tomorrow in Frankfort and Lansing,” Troutman commented, according to police. The rallies were protesting business closings — and the resulting layoffs — to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“Will the gov be there shooting plates???” An unknown user replied, according to police. The post referenced the governor’s decision to have license plate photos taken of those who attended a church despite social distancing guidelines.
“With any luck the gov will be the one at whom the shooting will be directed,” Troutman replied, according to police.
Police said they believed Troutman was “threatening to commit a crime likely to result in death or serious physical injury to the Kentucky governor,” according to court records.
Troutman’s lawyer, Steve Romines, told WDRB in Louisville that Troutman did not threaten to kill Beshear.
“He didn’t say he was going to kill him,” Romines said. “We like to pretend the First Amendment means something, but it only does if it’s something you agree with.”
Romines could not be immediately reached for additional comment.
Troutman previously had his license to practice law suspended for two years in 2007 when he shot an arrow from a crossbow into a neighbor’s garage, according to court records. The arrow pierced the garage door and wound up in a refrigerator. Troutman pleaded guilty to felony wanton endangerment, according to court documents.
He said the incident was a result of him taking a large amount of over-the-counter allergy medicine to control his severe allergies, according to documents from the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Troutman’s charges were dismissed with the agreement that his license to practice law would be suspended, according to court documents. However, Troutman got in trouble for practicing law under a suspended license in April 2009. The charges stemmed from work he did in 2008 in which he did research, prepared drafts of documents and reviewed drafts of documents, according to court documents.
Troutman said he did not provide legal assistance, and Troutman and the court settled on a 30-day suspension, according to Kentucky Supreme Court documents.
He was reinstated on April 26, 2012.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 1:52 PM.