Free Republic

In a controversial and heart-wrenching case, Montana’s Child Protective Services has been accused of forcibly transporting a 14-year-old girl from her family in Montana to Wyoming for gender transition treatment, leading to a complete revocation of her parents’ custody. The family’s media representative, Mattie Watkins, has disclosed a distressing account to The Gateway Pundit involving the Kolstad family of Montana. Todd and Krista Kolstad have been embroiled in a legal and emotional struggle for their 14-year-old daughter after Montana CPS took drastic action that is tantamount to “kidnapping.” In April 2023, the Montana legislature passed State Bill 99, which banned...

....Chinese officials are seizing on opportunities to forge ties with mayors and other local American leaders, the kinds of connections that give Beijing leverage against an increasingly hostile government in Washington.

A family in Glasgow, Montana is accusing the state’s child protective services of “kidnapping” their teenage daughter after the girl began to identify as a transgender “boy.” Krista and Todd Kolstad spoke to Reduxx about their ordeal, revealing that the child had been removed from their care and was now going to be sent to Canada. Krista, the child’s step-mother, explains that their nightmare began in August of 2023 after they received a call that their 14-year-old daughter, Jennifer*, had expressed suicidal ideations while at school. “She had always had problems at school,” Krista says, noting that she and Todd...

Last Best Place PAC has spent millions of dollars attacking GOP frontrunner Tim Sheehy... Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) is behind the mysterious group attacking the top Republican Senate candidate in Montana, his political action committee confirmed Friday. Last Best Place PAC has spent nearly $6 million in just five months on television ads against Tim Sheehy, a Montana businessman seeking the Republican nomination. Sheehy is leading in primary polls over likely challenger Rep. Matt Rosendale (R.) and is widely considered the more competitive candidate in a general election against incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D.). The admission from...

Attorney General Austin Knudsen of Montana stopped an abortion ballot proposal from going through on Tuesday, claiming it was “legally insufficient,” according to the Montana Free Press. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana launched the ballot initiative in November 2023, which would prevent “the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability,” according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Knudsen dismissed the proposal, arguing in a memorandum that it was “legally insufficient” and “logrolls multiple distinct political choices into a single initiative,” the Montana Free Press reported. “Ballot Measure 14 creates an express right to abortion but denies...

Occasional guest columnist Karl Brauneis writes, "The Threatened and Endangered Species Act actually did more for attorneys and environmental elites then it did for the wildlife it was designed to protect. The few got rich while the working men and woman and the forest itself suffered." In 1974 I was a rookie on the Bighorn Inter-Regional Fire Suppression Crew at Greybull, Wyoming. The crew name was later changed to the Wyoming Hot Shots. As a “new man” I was classified as a Government Service (GS) - 3 and made $3.08 per hour. We also earned overtime pay (time and ½)...

Colorado completed the transfer of 10 wolves into the state last week after the animals were captured in Oregon. For the people involved, it was framed as a success, a joyful occasion at an invitation-only event. For the rest of the public, the release details were kept secret, and many livestock producers were in the middle of a meeting with state wildlife officials when it was announced that the release of the first five wolves had taken place. Step 1: Ignore History On Monday, Dec. 18, Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared, “Today, history was made in Colorado. For the first...

Two wolves released on Dec. 19, 2023, in Grand County, Colorado, 2302-OR, a juvenile female, black color, 68 pounds, and 2303-OR, a juvenile male, gray color, 76 pounds, come from the Five Points Pack. According to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Livestock Depredation Investigations, Five Points pack wolves injured one calf and killed another in separate depredations in July of 2023; killed a cow on Dec. 5, 2022; and injured a 900-pound yearling heifer on July 17, 2022. ... On July 21, OFW authorized the killing of up to four wolves from the Five Points Pack after two attacks...

The case is being prosecuted against Gabriel Metcalf, 49-years-old. To sum up the case to present, Gabriel came to Billings about a decade ago to help his mother at a difficult time in her life. She needed a new roof on her house, because she had befriended a drug addict who took advantage of her. Gabriel is skilled in the construction trades. He was the child who answered his mother’s call, put on a new roof, and stayed to help his mother, Vivian.A new neighbor rented the basement of the house next door, and became a serious threat. Vivian and...

A proposed state constitutional amendment on abortion access could boost Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-MT) reelection chances in Montana if added to next year’s ballot. Favorable results for abortion rights activists in off-year ballot initiatives in Ohio and Kansas have prompted some Democratically-aligned groups to push for similar questions to be posed to voters in Montana, where Tester’s race will likely decide control of the U.S. Senate. Planned Parenthood Action Fund submitted a ballot initiative in the Treasure State late last month that, if affirmed, would enshrine Montanans with the right to make decisions about their pregnancy, including if they want...

Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) decision to retire has made the Senate landscape in 2024 even more complicated for Democrats. The party was already facing an uphill slog to hold on to its Senate majority, as it prepared to protect seats in West Virginia, Montana and Ohio — three states where the GOP nominee for president will be heavily favored. Manchin’s name on the ballot suggested a competitive race. Without him, the Senate seat seems wrapped for the GOP as a gift. Losing the state would leave no room for another loss for Democrats if they hope to keep their majority,...

A group of cowboys and ranchers from Arkansas and Montana arrived in Israel to volunteer to help farmers and ranchers suffering a shortage of workers since October 7; They are not Jewish and all paid for their own...

Last week, we covered how Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), a lesser known member of the Squad, is facing a primary challenger for her response to Hamas' attack on Israel earlier this month. As has been the case with other Squad members, her response to the terrorist attack certainly leaves something to be desired. Her response to the situation hasn't gotten much better, especially since she partook in a Squad press conference last Friday to demand a "ceasefire." Lee's response may not just affect her own race, but next year's Pennsylvania Senate race where vulnerable Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, Jr. is...

A 28-year-old Montana mom of two children named Aryan and Nation was arrested for fatally striking a Native American woman while allegedly high on meth — and then claiming she mistook the victim for a deer. Sunny White was apprehended in Flathead County Friday on a warrant out of Lake County charging her with vehicular homicide while under the influence in the March 2023 death of 22-year-old Mika Westwolf. Additional charges against White include accidents involving another person or deceased person, two counts of criminal child endangerment and criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Westwolf was walking along Highway 93 in...

By a vote of 21-13, the committee elected former Ravalli County Commissioner Ron Stoltz as central committee chair over Terry Nelson, who had served in that capacity since 2008. Nelson, a planner and surveyor by trade and Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2016, will continue in his role as state party secretary, a position to which he was elected at a statewide convention this June. Stoltz was nominated for chair by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, the chair of the Montana Freedom Caucus and a prominent figure among Republican hardliners in Montana. She noted during Monday’s county party meeting that Stoltz was...

“Our country is facing $33 trillion of debt. Our border is facing an unprecedented invasion. And instead of being energy dominant, we are now energy reliant,” he said in a statement before the vote. “The House of Representatives and the American people deserve a leader who can challenge the status quo and put an end to this ruin.”

Gary Marbut and the Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) have scored another victory in restoring the right to keep and bear arms in Montana. The Montana Urban Transportation District (MUTD) has removed its ban on the carry or transport of weapons on the vehicles of the Mountain Line in Missoula. Gary Marbut is the right to keep and bear arms guru in Montana. He is responsible for writing and passing most of the Montana gun laws. Those laws have done a great deal to restore the right to keep and bear arms (RKBA). In 2016, MSSA requested MUTD remove its...

Menendez, who was indicted alongside his wife on bribery charges, "deserves our presumption of innocence until proven guilty," Booker said. Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., on Tuesday pledged to donate the $10,000 they accepted from the political action committee of indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is facing growing calls to resign. Fellow New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker commented Tuesday on the charges facing Menendez for the first time after remaining silent on the matter following his indictment last week. Menendez, who was indicted alongside his wife on bribery charges, "deserves our presumption of innocence until...

The controversial Gun Free School Zone case, where Gabriel Metcalf has been in pre-trial detention for a month, has a detention hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday morning, September 21, 2022.Russel Hart, the federal public defender for Gabriel Metcalf, asked for the hearing, citing new evidence that was not available at the first detention hearing. Shortly after Gabriel’s arrest, seemingly by an ATF/Billings Police Task Force, the hearing took place. The prosecuting attorney, Assistant United States Attorney Thomas K. Godfrey, had opposed the re-opening of the detention hearing. Godfrey indicated to Judge Cavan that he had sufficient information and that...

Gabriel Metcalf was arrested in Billings, Montana, for violating the Gun Free School Zone Act on August 22, 2023. The Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Thomas K. Godfrey asked for pre-trial detention at the August 25, 2023, preliminary hearing. The reason for pre-trial detention is listed in the image. The Magistrate Judge, Timothy J. Cavan, granted the Order of Detention for Gabriel Metcalf. The reasons checked on the order of detention pending trial form is a claim the judge believed the Government had proven, by clear and convincing evidence, that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably...