THOMASTON — A Maine state lawmaker says he has received death threats over what he now calls a poor attempt at humor in a tweet several months ago about former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Democratic state Rep. Chuck Kruger said he was in a Twitter conversation last August about a soldier who had died after returning from Iraq and in one post he suggested Cheney should meet the same fate as former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The comment went virtually unnoticed until a conservative Maine news wire posted a headline last week that said Kruger was urging Cheney’s execution.

Kruger tells the Bangor Daily News since then he has received 350 to 400 critical emails and voice mails, a couple of which called for his execution.

The state GOP has called for Kruger’s resignation.