Tag Archives: Montana

The Associated Press reports: Just hours after a Montana judge blocked health officials from enforcing a state rule that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate, the Republican-run state on Thursday said it would defy the order. District Court Judge Michael Moses chided attorneys for the state during a hearing in Billings for circumventing his …

The Great Falls Tribune reports: Two Montana brothers whom the FBI has said were among the first people to break into the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 Electoral College vote have reached agreements calling for them to plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding. Jerod and Joshua Hughes climbed through a broken window and Jerod Hughes …

The Christian Post reports: Caleb Snodgrass, an elder at Fellowship Baptist Church who has been serving in that role for approximately four years, told The Christian Post in an interview Friday that the church was told on June 5 by Jordan Hall’s wife, Mandy, that he physically abused her and her son. After the incident, she reportedly kicked him out …

The Christian Post reports: More than a month after his arrest on DUI and weapons charges, Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, has removed Pastor Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall from ministry due to allegations of “serious sin.” Hall, known for his scathing criticisms of Christian leaders on his now-defunct polemics website Pulpit & Pen and, more recently, Protestia, has also …

The Christian Post reports: Aaron and Melissa Klein, a Christian couple whose bakery has been held up in the courts for years and were ordered to pay $135,000 in damages for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, are now working on opening a new shop to “show God’s goodness to everyone.” The Kleins, who owned Sweet Cakes …

The Missoula Current reports: While the Governor’s Office has declined to reveal the location of Gov. Greg Gianforte during Montana’s unprecedented flooding disaster, the national news outlet Newsy reported that the state’s top elected official and his wife were vacationing in Tuscany. On Thursday, Newsy was the first to report Gianforte’s location, achieving what Montana’s numerous news outlets couldn’t despite …

Helena’s NBC News affiliate reports: After a tight race and a nearly 48-hour wait for the final results, it appears former U.S. Rep. and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has secured the Republican nomination for U.S. House in Montana’s new western congressional district. The last large pool of uncounted votes – from Lincoln County – were released Thursday afternoon, extending Zinke’s …

Helena’s NBC News affiliate reports:  Charges of felony intimidation and possession of explosives have been filed against Helena resident Logan S. Pallister, 23. Police report he has allegedly threatened harm at Helena High School multiple times in the past. According to court documents, Helena Police were advised of a possible school threat on the evening of Monday, May 30. An …

The Great Falls Tribune reports: A conservative minister who seemed to be a darling of far-right politicians in the state has admitted that he fabricated a story about a transgender Native American lobbyist allegedly berating a state senator so badly that he sought the protection of the Montana Senate’s sergeant-at-arms. In a libel case that has raged on for more …

Religion News Service reports: A Montana Baptist pastor who has spent years warning that liberals were taking over the Southern Baptist Convention and evangelical churches, was arrested on DUI and weapons charges. Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, and publisher of the online Christian polemics site Protestia, was arrested on May 11 after a …

The Daily Mail reports: Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) got into a confrontation with employees of a Montana airport which grew so heated that law enforcement had to get involved, a new video showed on Sunday. Cruz was spotted at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport shortly after noon on Sunday, apparently irritated by missing his flight, according to the Reddit user who …

NBC News reports: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte shot and killed a mountain lion that was being tracked by the National Park Service in December, his second such hunt of a monitored animal that ventured outside the protected areas of Yellowstone National Park. The Republican governor “had a valid mountain lion license, treed a lion on public land in Park County …

The Helena Record reports: The Montana Legislature’s Democratic Party leaders on Friday called for a Republican state senator to be removed from her interim committee assignment, after the Missoulian newspaper quoted her as denigrating LGBTQ people and suggesting their feelings of fear are “normal consequences associated with the choices they made.” “Sen. Manzella’s remarks are nothing short of offensive, dangerous …

The Missoulian reports: The “God, Country, Family” tour is coordinated by the Gideon Knox Group, which publishes the Montana Daily Gazette, and will make six total stops in communities around the state. Speakers at Wednesday’s event included Pastor Jordan “JD” Hall, who founded the Montana Daily Gazette, Senator Theresa Manzella (R-Hamilton), congressional candidate Al Olszewski, Leah Southwell of the John …

The Associated Press reports: At least three people were killed Saturday afternoon when an Amtrak train that runs between Seattle and Chicago derailed in north-central Montana, toppling several cars onto their sides, authorities said. The westbound Empire Builder train derailed about 4 p.m. near Joplin, a town of about 200, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement. The accident …

The Huffington Post reports: When a local fly fishing guide spotted noted vaccine skeptic Tucker Carlson at a sporting goods store in Livingston, Montana, he did not waste time. “You are the worst human being known to mankind. I want you to know that,” Dan Bailey can be heard telling the Fox News host in a video posted to his …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A federal grand jury in Billings, Montana, returned an indictment on May 20 charging a Montana man with hate crime and firearm violations for allegedly firing a gun into an individual’s house and threatening the individual with violent, homophobic slurs. According to court documents, John Russell Howald, 44, of Basin, is charged with …

The New York Times reports: The American Civil Liberties Union and the Native American Rights Fund filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging two new election laws in Montana as unconstitutional infringements on Native Americans’ right to vote. Montana legislators enacted the laws — H.B. 176, which eliminated same-day voter registration, and H.B. 530, which restricted ballot collection — this spring, …

The Guardian reports: Montana’s governor has signed a bill that bans transgender athletes from competing on school and university sports teams that correspond with their gender. Greg Gianforte’s signing on Friday makes Montana the latest Republican-controlled state to approve such legislation. Conservative lawmakers in state capitols across the US have proposed more than 80 laws this year targeting trans people, …

The Hill reports: Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to seek a new term in Congress, six years after leaving office to join the Trump administration. Zinke, 59, a Republican, won two elections to represent Montana’s lone congressional district, in 2014 and 2016. Zinke’s filing indicates he plans to run for Montana’s 2nd …