A Vermont man has denied charges he sprayed liquid manure on a marked U.S. Customs and Border Protection car after confronting an agent about why he wasn't doing more to arrest people in the country illegally.

Fifty-three-year-old Mark Johnson, of Alburgh, pleaded not guilty Thursday to state charges of disorderly conduct and simple assault of a law enforcement officer with fluids. He declined comment afterward.

The Border Patrol agent said in court documents that Johnson sprayed the car after a profanity-laced tirade Aug. 3 in Alburgh, just south of the Canadian border.

Johnson said Wednesday he asked the agent why he wasn't doing more to arrest people in the U.S. illegally. Johnson said he didn't know the car was nearby when he turned on his manure spreader.

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