BENNINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - There were tense moments in a Bennington courtroom Friday as a former gubernatorial candidate and gun rights activist faced a judge. Kevin Hoyt, who is often outspoken on political matters on social media, pleaded not guilty to charges that he violated a no-stalking order against a former state representative.

“I am a free living man on God’s soil. I’m actually electing not to participate in this fictional corporate entity but I don’t have much of a choice,” said Kevin Hoyt, who chose to represent himself in Bennington County court Friday after he was arrested on a warrant in Fair Haven for violating a no stalking order. “I’d like to enter a plea of not guilty to all three counts today please.”

Hoyt was ordered by the court to stay away from former Vermont Representative Christopher Bates in March of 2022. But court documents say he violated that order in October of that year after threatening on social media to shoot Bates.

Hoyt says the charges against him are politically motivated. “They cut my brake lines. They want to kill me, and I’ve got major evidence of major crimes,” he said. Hoyt has also leveled unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against state officials and police departments including federal gun crimes, racketeering, and human trafficking, “I’ve called the Bennington police department 87 times. I’ve called the Vermont state Bennington area state’s attorney 41 times. They told me not to call back. They told me I could not report a crime,”

It’s unclear why almost two years elapsed between the time Hoyt allegedly violated the stalking order in 2022 and his arrest Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison, a $15,000 fine, or both.

A judge ordered Hoyt to follow the same conditions set back in 2022 -- not to have contact or make statements about Bates -- which Hoyt claims is a violation of his First Amendment rights.