Former Coventry Town Councilor charged with threatening council president

COVENTRY, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha said that a former Coventry town councilor was charged for allegedly threatening another councilor.

Scott Copley was charged with one count of threatening a public official.

The charge came after an incident on March 21, when Copley allegedly threatened Town Council President Hillary Lima during a phone call with another councilor.

Copley and former Councilor James LeBlanc both resigned on April 7 due to a disagreement with the rest of the council over how legal fees were being assessed and paid out, which is allegedly why Copley made the threatening comment.

Copley’s lawyer, John Lynch, Jr., said that they “will defend this matter vigorously and expect that he will be fully exonerated.”

Lynch also referred back to Copley’s statement from April, where he said that he never made any threats against anyone, including Lima, and that “most, if not all” of the conversation was about government matters.