Tag Archives: Montana

Montana Man Guilty Of Hate Crime Charges After Firing AK-47 In Vow To Rid Town Of Its “Lesbians And Queers”

From the Justice Department: A federal jury convicted a Montana man of hate and firearms crimes for firing an AK-style assault rifle at the residence of a woman, who identified as lesbian, and was home at the time. After a four-day trial that began on Feb. 14, the jury found John Russell Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, guilty of hate …

Read More »

GOP Montana Bill Bans Teaching “Scientific Theories”

Montana Public Radio reports: A bill in the state Legislature seeking to regulate science curriculum in public schools got its first hearing Monday. The legislation’s sponsor says by banning scientific theories, the policy aims to prevent kids from being taught things that aren’t true. More than 20 people testified against Senate Bill 235, concerned that it could keep teachers from …

Read More »

MT House Approves Bill To Deny LGBTQ Healthcare

The Montana Free Press reports: State lawmakers in the House of Representatives gave broad approval Monday to a bill that would allow medical providers, health care facilities and insurers to deny services based on “ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles,” signaling the bill’s likely advancement to the Senate this week. House Bill 303, sponsored by Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, …

Read More »

MT Rep Seeks To End Native American Reservations

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Keith Regier is proposing asking Congress to study alternatives to reservations. The measure, submitted this week and riddled with racial stereotypes, is unlikely to pass and would have no practical effect if it did. But it’s causing tensions to surface at the Republican-controlled Montana Legislature that kicked off this week. Regier said the language …

Read More »

MT Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

Billings’ CBS affiliate reports: A Lame Deer pastor was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on sexual abuse charges alleged to have occurred on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Dean Alan Smith, 66, pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact and three counts of abusive sexual contact …

Read More »

Court Axes Nation’s “Most Extreme” Anti-Vax Law

ProPublica reports: In a victory for public health advocates, a federal judge in Montana has blocked the state from implementing a law that would make it illegal for hospitals to ask employees if they are vaccinated. The measure, which passed last year, was the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law. Health care providers in Montana had sued the state over the …

Read More »

Corrupt Trumper Ryan Zinke Wins Montana House Race

Reuters reports: Ryan Zinke, a former secretary of the U.S. Interior Department under then-President Donald Trump, who stepped down in 2018 amid ethics probes, won a U.S. House of Representatives seat in Montana, Edison Research projected on Thursday. Zinke, a Republican who served in the House from 2015 to 2017 before joining the Trump administration, beat Democrat Monica Tranel, an …

Read More »

Montana Defies Court Order On Trans Birth Certificates

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 …

Read More »

Rioter Brothers Plead Guilty To Felony Obstruction

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 …

Read More »

Hate Pastor Accused Of Embezzlement, Assaulting Wife

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 …

Read More »

Montana Anti-Gay Hate Pastor Fired For “Serious Sin”

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 …

Read More »

Anti-Gay Bakers Launch Money Beg For New Bakery

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 …

Read More »

GOP Montana Gov Finally Located On Vacation In Italy As State Endures “Unprecedented Flooding Disaster”

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 …

Read More »

Cultist Ryan Zinke Wins Montana GOP House Primary

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 …

Read More »

MT Man Charged With Threat To Reenact Columbine

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 …

Read More »

Extremist Pastor Admits Fabricating Story About Trans Activist And Possible $250,000 Settlement May Result

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 …

Read More »

Extremist Pastor Hit With DUI And Weapons Charges

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 …

Read More »

Cops Called After Cruz Melts Down Over Missed Flight

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 …

Read More »

MT Gov Kills Mountain Lion Tracked By Park Service

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 …

Read More »

Democrats Call For Sanctions Against GOP Montana State Senator Who Justified Violence Against LGBTQs

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 …

Read More »