NEWPORT — A Pend Oreille County District Court judge is dismissing a protection order petition filed against the chairman of Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter.

Norris Boyd Jr., chairman of Pend Oreille County’s Planning Commission, filed for the order against CANSS chairman Michael Naylor after Naylor passed along a third-party report to police that Boyd appeared to be intoxicated after having lunch with county Commissioner Mike Manus in downtown Newport restaurant and bar on Feb. 18.

Naylor relayed the report to the Washington State Patrol and Newport Police, although neither agency took action on the report, according to court documents. Naylor also passed the report to the Washington State Liquor & Cannabis Control Board, questioning whether Kelly’s Bar & Grill had over-served alcohol to the planning commission chairman.

Boyd disputed the allegations and said surveillance footage from the restaurant proved he consumed no alcohol during the lunch break.

Attorneys for the respective parties made their arguments before Judge Eric Dooyema on May 28.

Dooyema released a written decision in the case on Thursday.

In it, Dooyema noted that Naylor’s report was based on another CANSS member’s report of seeing Boyd acting strangely at the restaurant, raising suspicions that he was intoxicated. Naylor went to the restaurant to investigate and from outside he phoned the report to WSP, although a trooper was too far away to respond, court documents indicate. Naylor also contacted Newport Police.

Officers from both agencies, however, suspected Naylor was making a politically motivated false report, Dooyema noted in his decision.

Dooyema called the case “unusual” because the allegations raised by Boyd did not involve any actual contact between Boyd and Naylor.

“The calls to WSP and to (Newport Police Chief Mark) Duxbury are concerning,” Dooyema wrote.

Dooyema found that Naylor absolutely insinuated that Boyd may have been drinking, but was seemingly careful not to say too much. Dooyema noted that telling lies about someone does not amount to unlawful harassment unless those lies cause harm to the target of the falsehoods.

“Boyd’s main concerns, rightfully based on the allegations here, are his reputation and integrity. However, protection orders are not intended to protect reputations,” Dooyema wrote.

For the protection order to be granted, the court would have to find that Boyd would have and did suffer emotional distress.

“There is nothing in the record that can lead to either of those conclusions,” Dooyema wrote.

Dooyema said Naylor’s conduct could have resulted in a different outcome had Boyd or Manus been stopped by law enforcement and agreed with law enforcement that the matter was politically motivated.

“This includes the filing of this petition. Protection orders are meant to be a shield and not a sword,” Dooyema concluded.

Despite prevailing in the case, Naylor announced on social media that he was stepping down as chairman of CANSS. Naylor said he had reached his limit after three years of threats and slander and was unsurprised by the court’s ruling.

“I must say that I was shocked by it and totally disgusted,” Naylor said of the ruling.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.