Mo. lawmakers get in fistfight over right-to-work bill

State Rep. Courtney Allen Curtis, D-Ferguson, has filed a restraining order against Rep. Michael Butler, D-St. Louis, after a dispute over right-to-work legislation during a union event last week led to an alley fistfight.

Curtis, who also filed a House ethics complaint, alleges Butler verbally confronted him at an AFL-CIO reception at a Jefferson City restaurant Jan. 19. Curtis said the reason was because last year he was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans to make Missouri a right-to-work state.

Curtis alleges Butler took a swing at him in an alley as he was leaving, and Curtis said he fought back.

"Our political stances shouldn't ever result to having violent actions taken against us," Curtis said.

The Associated Press reached out to Butler, but he declined to comment.

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