New details on the indictment against Commissioner Boyd

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the indictment against Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd does, indeed, involve politics.

They say Boyd was indicted for attempting to extort an opponent in an upcoming election.

That opponent is Brent Lambert.

Lambert has already said that the Boyd campaign threatened to release damaging information against him if he didn’t quit the race.

That information involved alleged campaign donations.

TBI agents began investigating the extortion allegation at the request of District Attorney General Neal Pinkston.

In a release, the agency said “Agents developed information that Boyd (DOB 5-9-52) attempted to force an opponent to withdraw from the commissioner’s race by threatening to release information Boyd perceived to be damaging to his opponent.”

This morning, Boyd reported to the Hamilton County Jail for booking and was released on a $2,500 bond.

He got out in time to make this morning’s Hamilton County Commission meeting.

On Tuesday, the commissioner called the indictment political.

Today he told us the entire process is unfair since he didn’t ever get a chance to tell his side of the story.

And he said he is not concerned about how the indictment will affect his re-election, even as it comes at the beginning of early voting for the race.