A letter to the editor in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune's Sunday edition that contained a threat against state Rep. Sid Miller has prompted an investigation by criminal investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Miller, R-Stephenville, said he took a copy of the newspaper with him when he returned to Austin and notified capitol security that he had received a threat, as legislators are advised to do.

The Criminal Intelligence Service interviewed Michael Snyder, the letter's author, as well as the managing editor of the newspaper, Sara Vanden Berge.

The opening paragraph of Snyder's letter stated: "I think if State Representative Sid Miller came up to me at the park, I would shoot him dead for the wild, rabid, and downright mean evil dog that he is. And if I found his biography at a bookstore, I'd complain to the manager that it needed to be in the trash novels section."

Snyder was referring to two stories: one about an off-duty Tarleton State University police officer who shot a dog in the park when he thought it was about to attack his children, and another story about a woman who complained about adult, sexually explicit material found in the children's section at a local bookstore.

In an e-mail to Miller, Sgt. Chris Ledbetter of the criminal intelligence service of the DPS said he was unable to make contact with Rochelle Stidham, publisher of the Empire-Tribune, but spoke with Vanden Berge.

"I emphasized the importance of notifying the local law enforcement and any other interested parties immediately when they receive any type of threatening letters regardless of how serious they think the submitter may be," Ledbetter wrote.

Vanden Berge, however, said she visited with the "state police" for a few minutes to identify Snyder. She said that nothing was said about future letters and that they did not consider the published letter to be a threat.

"I have not filed any charges against Snyder, and I don't know that I am going to," Miller said. "I am not as upset with Snyder as I am with the paper for publishing the letter, because Snyder is a nut."