To defense lawyers, the Teamsters members who crashed the 2014 filming of the “Top Chef’’ television show at the Steel & Rye restaurant in Milton were exercising their constitutionally protected right to picket for union jobs, for themselves and their fellow union members.
But a federal prosecutor told a jury Thursday that the members’ actions crossed the line and constituted extortion — the threat of economic loss and physical harm to demand jobs that “Top Chef’’ had already deemed unwanted and unnecessary.
During the filming, the Teamsters’ members chest-bumped crew members, yelled profanities at them, and threatened one person that they would have killed him if the police were not around, according to Assistant US Attorney Kristina Barclay. This all came after the television show had rebuffed the Teamsters’ call to enter into a collective bargaining agreement.
“This wasn’t a negotiation,’’ Barclay told jurors in her closing arguments. “No one has the right to use threats . . . to force an employer to enter into a contract for services they didn’t want or need.’’
A jury of nine women and three men began deliberating the Teamsters’ fates Thursday afternoon, after more than three hours of closing arguments in which Barclay and the defense attorneys sought to draw a line between the federal crime of extortion and what defense attorneys called lawful union advocacy.
“This is all Hollywood, film people who don’t like being called names, don’t like being harassed,’’ said Oscar Cruz, an attorney for Daniel Redmond. But, he added, “There is a recognition that the Teamsters have the right to protest . . . It doesn’t help anybody to have a production company come in to town, take away [union] jobs.’’
The case included testimony over a week from 17 witnesses, including “Top Chef “celebrity host Padma Lakshmi, and it included allegations of union rough-housing and interference by City Hall aide Kenneth Brissette, who allegedly sought to withhold permits for the show on behalf of the union. He has denied any wrongdoing and faces similar allegations in a separate case.
The four Teamsters — Redmond, 49; John Fidler, 53; Robert Cafarelli, 47; and Michael Ross, 62 — are charged with conspiracy and attempted extortion and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. They represented the Charlestown-based Teamsters Local 25.
The jury deliberated for nearly three hours Thursday and was set to resume deliberations Friday.
By the accounts of both prosecutors and defense lawyers, “Top Chef’’ had chosen Boston as the site of its 12th season, and was filming Episode 7 (Mayor Martin J. Walsh and other city officials had participated in earlier episodes) when Redmond learned the show had been filming with nonunion jobs.
According to defense attorneys, Redmond directed show producers to his union representatives to discuss the hiring of Teamsters drivers. But prosecutors argued that the producers never had any intention of hiring Teamsters drivers — they had already hired nonunion associate producers whose duties included driving — and they said they made that clear to the union.
Barclay told jurors the four defendants then threatened to disrupt the show if it continued with nonunion drivers. After their calls for contract discussions had been rebuffed, they crashed the filming of the show in Milton and harassed crew members, intimidated them, and slashed tires, she said.
Defense attorneys argued that the defendants were engaging in their right to picket an employer for jobs. While their actions may seem seedy, they did not constitute the federal crime of extortion, they argued.
US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock told jurors that unions have the right to picket, but cannot threaten violence or economic loss to demand jobs that are unwanted, unnecessary, or superfluous.
Attorney Kevin Barron argued the Teamsters were simply pushing for jobs. “Is this extortion going on, or is this a protest?’’ he told jurors. “That’s what you have to ask yourself.’’
Milton J. Valencia can be reached at milton.valencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @miltonvalencia.