Updated to include map of US militia activity from MilitiaWatch and ACLED: 10/24/2020 11:58 MST

HELENA, Mont. - Membership in a far-right militia network in the Northwest reportedly has exploded since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Montana Human Rights Network and Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights finds that Ammon Bundy, leader of armed standoffs in Oregon and Nevada, has exploited fears over the novel coronavirus to expand an anti-government group known as People's Rights to 20,000 followers across 16 states.

Travis McAdam, Combating White Nationalism and Defending Democracy program director with the Montana Human Rights Network, said local groups in this network were not formed to have civil debates about policy.

"They view this world as the battle between the righteous and the wicked," said McAdam. "And frankly there's a lot of discussion in People's Rights circles about how we need to form these paramilitary militias or other similar groups to protect the righteous and to deal with the wicked."

According to the report, Bundy says he wants to turn People's Rights into a "den of rattlesnakes" to protect Americans' rights. There are about 700 members of this group in Montana, who mostly organize on Facebook.

McAdam said the Montana leader of People's Rights, Nick Ramlow, wants to turn the group into an "Uber-like" network of self-styled militias.

In April, Ramlow said he was pursuing criminal charges against Gov. Steve Bullock for his shutdown order. McAdam said Ramlow then encouraged businesses to open up, saying militia members would arrest state officials who tried to shut them down.

"The Flathead County sheriff says, 'Hey, if he does that, that's going to be considered kidnapping,'" said McAdam. "Does that deter Ramlow? No. He's quoted in the paper as saying, 'The sheriff should really stay in line because I've got a bigger army than he does.'"

Devin Burghart is president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. He said history shows that it takes more than law enforcement to stop the threat of far-right groups such as People's Rights.

Communities also need to mobilize against the threat.

"Coming together, uniting, facing the fear together and building effective barriers against bigotry," said Burghart. "Those are the essential things that make the difference on the ground and those are things that will turn the tide from these folks dominating and dividing communities."

Berghart noted that since the report was released, Facebook has taken down pages associated with People's Rights.

An ACLED and MilitiaWatch joint report maps militia activity in the United States.



get more stories like this via email

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the arrival of immigrants an invasion and has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite their removal, including 137 people now in an El Salvador prison.

Last week, a federal judge in Colorado disagreed with Trump's interpretation of the 1798 law and granted a temporary restraining order, halting deportations until May 6.

Tim Macdonald, legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, said the statute does not apply to individuals crossing the U.S. border, even if they were members of a gang.

"The Alien Enemies Act, the statute that grants this wartime power, applies only when there is a declared war, or an invasion, or predatory incursion against the United States by a foreign nation or government," Macdonald outlined.

The decision comes on the heels of other federal court rulings ordering the Trump administration to stop Alien Enemies Act deportations, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump has criticized the rulings, claiming activist judges are allowing violent criminals to remain in the country.

Nine in 10 of the people now confined in El Salvador had no criminal record and at least one was removed because of an administrative error. The 10th Circuit judge in Colorado also ruled people cannot be removed without 21 days notice.

Macdonald argued all people in the U.S., regardless of their immigration status, have rights, including access to a judge to review the facts of their case.

"We know they're making mistakes, they've acknowledged they are making mistakes," Macdonald pointed out. "They're life-threatening ones when they send people to a foreign prison where they may never see the light of day again."

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he also intends to send "homegrown" American citizens to the El Salvador facility. Macdonald says if the administration can successfully deprive people of their basic rights, his future use of the power could become a slippery slope.

"When civil rights are threatened, they're threatened for everybody," Macdonald asserted. "Listeners should be concerned that the government is acting in a lawless way to deprive people of their liberty. And the question is, who's next?"


get more stories like this via email

Five years after George Floyd's murder by a white police officer sparked nationwide protests and demands for police reform, progress remains slow, including in Washington.

State legislators passed a number of police reforms a year after Floyd's death, including banning chokeholds and "no-knock" raids. One law banning police pursuits was later rolled back. Despite the changes, 2024 was one of the deadliest years for police killings in Washington, with almost 50 deaths.

Dom Campese, communications leader for the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, said at least 10 cases involved police pursuits.

"We need people to step up to the plate. We need legislators to work with us," Campese urged. "We need law enforcement to work with us, and we can enact sensible alternatives to what's currently happening."

Nationwide, police killed more people in 2024 than any year in more than a decade and Black people have died at disproportionate rates. Research shows most killings by police begin with traffic stops, mental health checks and other nonviolent offenses.

The coalition has been pushing the state to create an Office of Independent Prosecutions to handle officer-involved shootings, rather than leaving charging decisions with local prosecutors. Campese argued the current system is flawed because when cases are reopened, they go back to the same prosecutor who made the initial decision. He believes it creates potential conflicts of interest due to prosecutors' close ties with police.

"We would like to see officers held accountable when they break the law, and when someone ends up dying at their hand," Campese stressed.

The Washington Legislature has approved a plan to provide $100 million to hire more police officers. The bill would also allow local governments to increase the sales tax without voter approval to pay for criminal justice expenses.


get more stories like this via email

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and educators are training workers in key industries to recognize and report the crime, including energy workers in places like Montana.

Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit people for sex or labor.

Lindsey Mattson, director of industry engagement for the group TAT, formerly known as Truckers Against Trafficking, said the industry makes big illicit profits globally, second only to the drug trade.

TAT now trains groups across the transportation sector that are likely to intersect with traffickers including energy workers and people working at truck stops and dealerships.

"We can mobilize millions of people to move from passive bystanders to active disrupters," Mattson explained. "That is really our goal, is to train as many people as possible throughout all transportation industries to truly have an impact on fighting this crime."

Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen have prioritized addressing human trafficking in Montana. A 2023 law increased penalties for both traffickers and patrons. The state's Department of Justice worked nearly 130 cases related to trafficking in 2024.

Mattson stressed energy workers are vital eyes and ears on the ground, because they may use the same gas stations and hotels as traffickers. The workers themselves are targeted because they are often stationed in one place.

"They look for concentrations of men housed away from home with purchasing power," Mattson noted. "For the energy industry, something like a work camp or project location."

TAT has trained nearly 2 million professionals to identify and report the crime, including 50,000 energy workers in 43 companies.


get more stories like this via email