By RUDI KELLER
of the Tribune's staff

Missouri's Libertarian Party leaders voted to expel a former candidate for governor after growing tired of the insults and lawsuits he hurled at them.

The action, taken yesterday during a special state committee meeting at the Heidelberg Restaurant, has little practical effect. Martin Lindstedt of Granby retains his elected party posts and, under state law, may file for office as a Libertarian next year.

``It wasn't a pleasant thing, but this has been building up for three years,'' said state vice chairman Jim Higgins of St. Louis. ``We needed to make a statement and take some sort of action to let people know what the story is.''

Lindstedt was arrested by Columbia police for trespassing after refusing to leave when asked to do so by Heidelberg manager James Turpin. He posted a $75 bond and received a court date of May 13 for his arraignment.

A month earlier, Lindstedt did leave a party executive committee meeting when asked to do so by police.

The expulsion means Lindstedt has been removed from his state committee post, Columbia attorney Mitch Moore said.

The Libertarian Party is the state's third-largest political party. Along with the U.S. Taxpayers Party and the Reform Party founded by Ross Perot, the Libertarians have the right to file candidates to compete with Democrats and Republicans.

Lindstedt uses the Internet to proclaim his disgust with regular party leaders, whom he calls ``Pud-Pullers.'' Last July, he posted a parody of a party meeting that compared his opponents to Nazis.

He has also filed numerous lawsuits, including one seeking return of his $200 filing fee for governor. He accuses the party of failure to follow state election laws and charges that secretary of state Bekki Cook is failing to enforce those laws.

``I asked the Missouri secretary of state to dissolve the statewide functioning of the Missouri Libertarian Party,'' Lindstedt said. ``It is essentially a criminal organization.''

Higgins said party members asked for Lindstedt to be removed from the restaurant because he refused to stop videotaping party members while they conversed over lunch before the meeting.

``All he had to do was turn the camera off,'' Higgins said.

Lindstedt said he was only doing what any citizen has a right to do at a public meeting governed by the state Sunshine Law. ``I am not disturbing anyone. I am being polite. But I am also being firm on my rights.''

Lindstedt promotes militia groups on his Internet page. But Moore, a former Libertarian candidate for Congress and attorney general, said the militia ties are not the reason for Lindstedt's expulsion.

``It has nothing to do with his philosophy,'' Moore said. ``It is his advocacy of slandering opponents and negative campaigning.''

Lindstedt said the action last week will likely become part of his next series of lawsuits. Moore said Lindstedt can do as he wishes.

``He can file all the crank lawsuits he wants,'' Moore said.