PORTLAND – The Democratic lawyer who donned an Osama bin Laden costume replete with toy assault rifle to make a political statement on Halloween is facing additional charges.

Tom Connolly faces charges of terrorizing and reckless conduct, in addition to the original charge of criminal threatening, Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson told reporters Wednesday. All three are misdemeanors.

“Halloween or not, in this day and age you do not get to dress as an international terrorist and wave what appears to be an AK-47 at rush hour traffic,” Anderson said.

Police officers responding to calls from motorists on Interstate 295 found a bearded man wearing a white robe and carrying a fake assault rifle.

The costume included a rubber mask, plastic dynamite and grenades, in addition to the toy assault rifle. Before he was arrested, Connolly walked toward officers as plastic grenades tumbled onto the ground, an officer said.

Anderson said Connolly created an “incredibly dangerous” situation for motorists, for police – and for himself. “He’s lucky he didn’t get shot,” she said.

During a news conference, Anderson said she reacted the same way as other members of the community when she learned of the incident. “My gut reaction was consistent with other people: What a stupid thing to do,” she said.

It will be up to a jury to decide whether Connolly’s actions were criminal or constitutionally protected free speech.

But Connolly’s lawyer said Wednesday that there was no mistaking the prominent defense lawyer for a terrorist on Halloween.

“His protest involved a plastic squirt gun that was not used in any menacing manner whatsoever while Tom was in a costume on Halloween,” his lawyer Daniel Knight said. Furthermore Connolly was holding a sign with a political statement.

Connolly, 49, of Scarborough, gained national notoriety as the lawyer who divulged President Bush’s drunken-driving arrest days before the 2000 election.

The one-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee loves to needle the president. During the Democratic Convention, he passed out “W is for Wiener” buttons. He also has been known to wear a George W. Bush mask during a bumbling routine for motorists.

On Halloween, he was making a political statement about the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, which was defeated by voters on Nov. 7. At least one person who saw a sign held by Connolly thought it referenced “Taliban,” not TABOR, police said.

Anderson, a five-term Republican, said Connolly probably would have been charged even if he was wearing a George Washington costume instead of an Osama bin Laden costume. The problem, she said, was that the gun looked real and that he pointed it at people.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail, but a lengthy jail term was unlikely, Anderson said.

“We’re not looking for a lot of jail time here. We’re looking to hold Mr. Connolly accountable,” she said. The district attorney said another goal from the prosecution is to deter others from similar conduct.

The case was set for trial on Dec. 19, and Connolly is looking forward to his day in court, his lawyer said.

Connolly “believes in good faith that his protest was a legitimate, permissible exercise of his First Amendment right to free speech during an election involving important societal issues about which he felt strongly,” Knight said.

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