Missouri lawmaker calls colleague's behavior inappropriate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Two Missouri lawmakers clashed Tuesday after one accused the other of giving her an unwanted hug and calling her "boo," which the other forcefully denied.

Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal on the Senate floor Tuesday accused Rep. Joshua Peters of grabbing her arms and giving her a "forceful embrace" earlier in the day. She described it as harassment and intimidation.

"I'm not going to tolerate it, and I don't care who it is," Chappelle-Nadal said to colleagues in the Senate.

Peters in a statement called her claims "completely and categorically false" and said he'd sue her if she continues to make such allegations.

"I did not touch her, did not grab her arm and certainly would not call her some pet name like 'boo' when we are not friends," Peters said. "I consider this a vicious personal and politically motivated attack."

Both are St. Louis-area Democrats.

Chappelle-Nadal in 2014 supported Peters' primary opponent, Democrat Chris Carter, during a bitter campaign for state House.

Peters got a restraining order against Carter on the day of the primary over a flier that claimed Peters was charged with child molestation in Illinois when he was a teenager, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The paper reported Peters had no such record, and the order required Carter to destroy the fliers.