“Let me be clear: I unequivocally deny that I made any threat,” Meier said in a statement. “My conversations with Human Resources have always been professional and, in fact, I have never even visited HR since my election.”

It was initially unclear what incident prompted the statement from Meier, which was sent to the press by his office Tuesday morning. The statement appeared to precede publication of the allegations themselves.

Meier’s statement referred to a highway patrol incident report. A copy of the report was posted on the Cowboy State Daily, a news website, early Tuesday afternoon. A Wyoming Highway Patrol official later confirmed its authenticity.

Jim Angell, a journalist at Cowboy State Daily, said the highway patrol provided him a copy of the report at about 9:45 a.m. based on a public records request. Meier released his statement at 10:25 a.m. — roughly 40 minutes later. Angell told the Star-Tribune he had not yet contacted Meier’s office for comment at the time Meier released his statement.

In his statement, Meier said he was notified by Wyoming Highway Patrol that the report had been filed against him but that the investigation had been closed with no wrongdoing reported.