Man didn't threaten to kill Gregoire

It took a King County Superior Court jury about two hours to return a not-guilty verdict Tuesday for a man charged with threatening to kill Gov. Christine Gregoire during a protest in June.

Michael James Goodall was arrested June 20, five days after he was seen protesting near the downtown building where the state attorney general's Seattle office is located.

Goodall — who claims the state put his severely autistic child in abusive foster homes — had made a habit of calling attention to his cause by lining the sidewalk outside the building with posters and signs protesting Gregoire, the state and the Department of Social and Health Services.

During one protest, prosecutors said, Goodall told a passer-by, "I'm going to kill Christine Gregoire."

Goodall, who has no criminal history, claimed that he'd meant he was going to "kill" Gregoire, who was state attorney general before she was governor, with the truth. He said he had no intention of physically harming her.

The passer-by said he was alarmed by the threat and reported it to building security, which passed it on to Seattle police and eventually the State Patrol, which investigated.

The trial before Judge William Downing began Monday.

After the verdict, jurors said they were swayed by the amount of time that elapsed between Goodall's alleged threat and his arrest five days later, and that they were not convinced that Goodall had intended the words as a true threat.

Goodall's attorney, Kathryn Beckerman, said in her opening statement that the whole case was simply "much ado about nothing."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com