Browning state senator pleads not guilty to DUI, obstruction

GREAT FALLS (AP) — State Sen. Shannon Augare has pleaded not guilty to DUI, reckless driving and obstructing an officer.

The Browning Democrat and Blackfeet tribal leader appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls.

He is accused of fleeing a Glacier County sheriff's deputy who pulled him over for erratic driving May 26 on the Blackfeet reservation.

Prosecutors say Augare told the deputy he had no jurisdiction to arrest him and then sped away when the deputy attempted to take his keys.

The sheriff's office turned the matter over to the tribe, which handed the case to the U.S. attorney's office.

Augare's attorney Joe McKay says this is an unprecedented assertion of federal jurisdiction that he plans to challenge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong set a Sept. 26 trial date.