CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A longtime critic of the state’s legal system has been indicted on charges he threatened state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and her family.

Joe Haas, 52, of Boscawen, delivered a letter to Ayotte’s office in November demanding she drop a case against another anti-government activist, police said.

The letter told Ayotte she would face Biblical retribution if she did not drop the investigation. Haas has said the letter was inspired by the Book of Exodus, which he said directs Christians to warn the wicked about coming pestilence.

He said the letter merely was a courtesy copy of a petition he wrote to God.

“The Bible says warn the wicked, but I never said I was going to carry these things out,” Haas said.

Haas wants the state to drop its case against Ghislain Breton of Bow, who has filed millions of dollars of liens against state officials and lawyers involved in his divorce.

The improper influence indictment against Haas carries a possible prison term of 31/2 to seven years.

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Information from: The Union Leader, http://www.theunionleader.com

AP-ES-01-22-05 1324EST