BELFAST — A Belfast woman who has criticized municipal and county officials as well local police was arrested and charged with terrorizing with a dangerous weapon after a city councilor discovered a YouTube video in which he was named.

Laurie Allen, 56, of Seaview Terrace was arrested Friday and charged with the Class C felony after she posted a series of videos on YouTube in which she and a male companion she calls John can be seen shooting at targets in a wooded area. At the end of one of the profanity-laced videos, as she picks up the camera, she ticks off each city councilor, the city manager and the city planner by name, adding “Thanks for being my targets, you (expletives).”

Allen maintains at least one blog outlining her issues with the city and law enforcement.

Police Chief Michael McFadden said police believe the video delivered a terrorizing message to the city councilors, the city manager and even some city employees.

“We’re very cognizant that people have the right to disagree with their government and they have to have the opportunity to voice that disagreement,” McFadden said, adding police should not stand in the way of that. “It’s not such a fine line between appropriate disagreement and action, and illegal activity.”

Allen’s bail was set at $25,000 cash. Additional charges could be filed because there were seven people named in the video, McFadden said.

Allen has filed a number of lawsuits against the city and law enforcement in the past and is commonly seen with protest signs outside City Hall and the Waldo County Courthouse.

In one dispute, Allen claimed that the city was at fault for water damage on her property. In 2011, then-city attorney William Kelley reviewed Allen’s claims and found “the city of Belfast has no right, title, interest or obligation to maintain the stream/flood and drainage swale” on the property, and found no evidence that the city was ever deeded any easement to control the stream.

Note: Video contains offensive language. Allen’s comments that led to the charge begin at minute 6.

His 2011 report also stated that aerial photography shows that the natural drainage system on Seaview Terrace properties has been in existence since at least 1939, with the stream flowing through the area before the subdivision was built, but approximately 35 to 40 feet south of where it runs today. Kelley wrote that the stream was moved by a private entity, not by the city, so houses could be built where the stream had been. The move did not violate any laws or codes when the houses were built, but it would today, City Manager Joseph Slocum said at the time.

Kelley’s report continued: “In policy terms, it would be unlawful for the city to use public funds to improve private property, be that for erosion control or any other reason. That said, the city is obligated to maintain the drainage systems and culverts located within the rights of way, as well as those for which the city has obtained an easement over private property.”

Republican Journal Staff Writer Ethan Andrews contributed to this report.

Comments are not available on this story.