The executive director of the state Republican Party on Friday promised a federal civil rights complaint against Attorney General Josh Stein's office, saying it had "used the full police powers of the state" against the party.

Party attorney Thomas Stark soon hedged on the high-strung executive director's promise, saying a complaint was "conceivable" but that he wasn't in any hurry to file one. Both men accused Stein, a Democrat, of "an effort to chill political speech."

At issue is a four-paragraph inquiry letter someone in the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office sent the party this week. The letter asks the state GOP for its side of the story in a complaint filed against Woodhouse by the executive director of the state Democratic Party, Kim Reynolds.

In that complaint, Reynolds states that Woodhouse has been using robocalls to recruit candidates for this year's General Assembly races, potentially violating state laws on automated calls. She suggests that Woodhouse be fined for any improper calls, be enjoined from making more and, if he sent robocalls to cell phones, that "the list of cell phones should be provided for further examination by the FCC."

Reynolds' complaint was attached to the letter, and Woodhouse said he considered this a threat from Stein's office to seize GOP phone records.

Nowhere in the Consumer Protection Division letter, however, does anyone threaten to seize records or do anything other than ask the state Republican Party to provide a written statement, and Stein spokeswoman Laura Brewer said there's been no other correspondence with Woodhouse on this issue.

Given the logical next step, Woodhouse said, the letter carries an implicit threat of jail.

"Rank intimidation," he said. "Can there be a more shocking abuse of process?"

Brewer said there was simply no merit to "any of these hysterical claims." Stark conceded that it is likely common process to attach complaints to letters of inquiry, but he also said it's "way out of bounds" to even suggest an effort to seize party records.

"We feel threatened," he said.

Woodhouse said the party won't comply with the Attorney General Office's request and that the party would address the matter only once: During the Friday afternoon press conference he called to discuss it.

After that press conference, Stark said, the party would in fact respond to the letter to say the Democratic Party's complaint is without merit.

The Democratic Party put out its own statement Friday, calling the Republican Party's "violation of North Carolina law ... egregious and unethical."

"Dallas Woodhouse and the NC GOP should apologize for their blatant disregard of state law and be fined for every improper call that was placed," Reynolds said in that statement.

In her complaint, Reynolds acknowledged that she didn't receive the call herself but said she has a recording of it. The person who actually received the call is never identified, and Woodhouse said that makes it impossible to respond to the complaint. A Democratic Party spokesman said Woodhouse's calls violated state laws on telephone solicitations, but those laws have exceptions for political parties and candidates.

Woodhouse was cagey about whether the party has even done robocalls in an effort to recruit new candidates for General Assembly races, saying at one point that he wouldn't let the government force the party to reveal recruitment tactics.

"We have not made robocalls as defined by the statute and as generally understood," he said.

Update: Friday night Woodhouse said on Twitter that the state Republican Party's central committee, which governs day to day operations and legal affairs, would gather in Raleigh Saturday "to hold an urgent meeting and decide next steps."