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Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan

Stories By Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan

ACLU warns Montana ruling could gut First Amendment protections

ACLU warns Montana ruling could gut First Amendment protections

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression are asking the Montana Supreme Court to reconsider a 2003 decision as it relates to a current free speech case because they said it sets a dangerous precedent by placing addition hurdles for speech to get protection, contrary to the First Amendment rights found in both the state and federal constitutions.

The current case concerns Matthew Gordon Mayfield who allegedly told two police officers to “get f—ed” as he disputed the arrest of another man. Helena police officers arrested him, saying that he was interfering with the arrest. In the case, Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge relied on a 2003 case, State vs. Robinson, which led to Mayfield’s conviction. But Menahan’s reliance upon the case should be revisited, according to the two groups, because they warned that the Supreme Court got it wrong in 2003 and risked getting it wrong in 2026.

The 2003 case follows very similar contours in which a man was arrested by Helena Police for similar reasons, after calling an officer a profane name, seemingly for little reason....

‘Personhood’ bill moves to Montana House floor

‘Personhood’ bill moves to Montana House floor

by Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan

February 10, 2025

Just a little more than 90 days ago, Montana voters soundly approved a state constitutional amendment that enshrined the right to an abortion in state law. A bill championed by Montana House Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel, would essentially put the question again to voters in 2026, and many opponents told lawmakers they worried this new “fetal personhood” bill would go further than any other legislation in the country — and nullify Constitutional Initiative 128. ...

'Jabba the Hut': Recordings catch Senate candidate hurling slurs at opponent

'Jabba the Hut': Recordings catch Senate candidate hurling slurs at opponent

When U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy was asked publicly for the first time about comments he made about the Crow Indians being drunk and throwing beer cans at him — things he had said during late 2023 at campaign stops — the Republican challenger told Fox News that the tapes had been chopped up in order to make him look “evil.”

However, an investigation by the Daily Montanan, reviewing those full recordings, show no evidence of the tapes being manipulated, and the quotes were accurately first reported by Char Koosta News, the official newspaper of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Moreover, Char Koosta last week released two previously unknown tapes of other events that demonstrates that Sheehy, who is challenging incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, made similar disparaging comments about Crow people.

Furthermore, a full review of all the recordings also demonstrates Sheehy repeating a debunked claim that doctors are allowed to kill infants after their born; that he wants to defund and eliminate several federal departments, and repeatedly calling into question Tester’s record helping veterans, referring to Tester as “Jabba the Hut.” ...

Montana Tech reappoints Republican politician accused of being a white nationalist

Montana Tech reappoints Republican politician accused of being a white nationalist

A candidate for the Montana House of Representatives and a post-doctoral fellow at Montana Technical University in Butte has been reappointed to his position with the public university, even amid a request for an investigation by the state’s largest human rights organization because of concerns that he is an avowed white supremacist and neo-Nazi.

The Daily Montanan requested and received the letter appointing Trenin Bayless through the end of 2024 as a post-doctoral researcher who will work with students, something that specifically concerned the Montana Human Rights Network, which provided a detailed dossier of social media activities and posts attributed to Bayless. MHRN provided that dossier to the university system as well as the Daily Montanan.

The Montana Human Rights Network had earlier in the summer asked the Board of Regents of the Montana University System, which has oversight of all public colleges and universities in the state, including Montana Tech, to investigate the claims and, at a minimum, eliminate contact Bayless has with students. ...