Prosecutors in West Virginia have dropped charges against reporter Dan Heyman, who was arrested at the state capitol in early May after shouting questions at Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price Thomas (Tom) Edmunds PriceConspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention Coronavirus Report: The Hill's Steve Clemons interviews Chris Christie Trump flails as audience dwindles and ratings plummet MORE.

"The State has determined that Dan Heyman’s conduct was not unlawful and did not violate the law with which he was charged: willfully disrupting a State governmental process or meeting," according to a news release from Public News Service (PNS) issued Wednesday.

"I’m very relieved," Heyman, a reporter for PNS, said in a statement.

Following his arrest, Heyman faced up to six months of jail time after being charged for "willful disruption of government processes," a misdemeanor.

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"Facing six months of jail time for asking a question as a journalist was pretty troubling. In fact one condition of my bail was that I had to keep away from the state capitol — having access is part of my job," added Heyman, who was released on $5,000 bail.

"I don’t want my arrest to have a chilling effect on other reporters because we all need to keep asking the tough questions of elected officials. I’m incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support I’ve received from all over the country. The intense response to my arrest gives me confidence that people will defend the free press, because they believe in it," he continued.

Heyman told CNN shortly after his arrest that he did not purposefully invade Price's personal space, reasoning that he wanted to get his phone close enough to obtain a clear recording if the secretary said anything.

Civil liberties groups slammed the arrest, and Price distanced himself from it, saying the West Virginia Capitol Police did "what they thought was appropriate."

The PNS reporter added that he likely got too close to White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, who has Secret Service detail, because he "didn't realize she was there."

"I just assumed that Secretary Price was there and everyone else was staff. I didn't know that she was on the trip. ... I didn't want to get into her personal space, either," he told CNN at the time.