Man disputes abortion protester's claim he pointed rifle

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) - A Missouri man accused of pointing a rifle at an anti-abortion protester near a southwestern Illinois abortion clinic says it was unloaded and he only lifted it up for the man to see.

Police arrested 27-year-old Kevin Brooks of Springfield, Missouri, outside Granite City's Hope Clinic for Women clinic on Saturday.

John Ryan says he was among about two dozen protesters when he approached a man and woman in a car and offered them anti-abortion material. Ryan says he saw the rifle barrel pointed at him and backed away. No shots were fired.

Brooks tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Ryan followed them after they parked away from the clinic while waiting for it to open. Brooks says his friend was scared and his ammunition was in the car's trunk.