DES MOINES, Iowa—A state senator who has been indicted on a charge of attempted extortion said last week he no longer suspects he’s being targeted because he’s gay.

However, Sen. Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines) did express concerns over U.S. attorney’s office investigations of elected officials across the country that he said focus on a disproportionate number of Democrats.

McCoy pleaded not guilty in March to one count of attempted extortion for allegedly threatening to use his influence as a legislator to force a former business partner to pay him $2,000.

In an interview in March with The Advocate, a national magazine that addresses gay and lesbian issues, McCoy said he has “been a continuous target of groups targeting gays to advance their own agendas of intolerance and hate.”

“Clearly, there is significant speculation about what has motivated federal officials to take this action against me,” McCoy said in the article.

However, last week he told The Associated Press that he no longer believes he was targeted because of his sexual orientation.

“At the time I was interviewed, I had a lot to say, and those were suspicions at the time,” he said. “Since then, I honestly have to say, I have found no evidence to support some of the thoughts that I had at the time that I shared with the media.”