Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins pleaded not guilty to corruption charges Thursday at federal court in Boston, with his lawyer stating “the facts simply will demonstrate that he was charged with a crime he did not commit.

Tompkins' image took a big hit last week when FBI agents arrested him in Florida and federal prosecutors charged him with extorting a local cannabis business. But the sheriff's fellow Democrats have so far been reluctant to cast judgment or call for his resignation.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins faces federal extortion charges involving the purchase of an equity interest in a Boston-based cannabis company.