Must not speak ill of blacks -- even to your mother

A judge has dismissed a disorderly conduct charge against a University of Vermont student who was accused of using "explicitly racist and threatening language" in a phone call with his mother.

Three witnesses reportedly overheard the comments, but one declined to speak with investigators and another denied overhearing anything inflammatory.

University officials claimed in October that continuing education major Wesley Richter used “explicitly racist and threatening language" against black students and diversity initiatives on campus, reports Burlington CBS affiliate WCAX.

Judge David Fenster’s decision to dismiss the case on Tuesday for lack of probable cause ends two months of review after UVM police charged Richter with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

According to the Burlington Free Press, Richter's lawyer, Ben Luna, said the conversation in the library multimedia room between Richter and his mother contained no threats, but prosecutors argued in October that Richter's comments specifically targeted black students, and as such, constituted a crime.

Notably, however, Seven Days reported shortly after the charges were filed that UVM police had issued a statement saying that after conducting “a thorough investigation and threat assessment,” it had “found no information of an imminent threat to public safety.”

Richter’s attorney, Ben Luna, however, offered a very different appraisal, saying the judge’s determination makes clear that the charges never should have been filed.

"This opinion is a victory for the First Amendment. This opinion is a victory for free speech on university campuses,” Luna declared in a statement after the dismissal.

The exact nature of Richter’s controversial phone call is not known, as the ruling prevents the release of an affidavit containing specific alleged quotations, but Richter has insisted that he did not make any threats during the conversation

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