Montana ranks seventh in the nation for the number of Olympic athletes by birthplace on a per-capita basis since 1924, placing the state behind Alaska and New Hampshire and ahead of New York and Rhode Island.

A total of 58 Montana-born athletes have competed in summer and winter Olympic Games since the first Winter Olympics was held in 1924, according to an analysis by Montana Free Press using data from Olympedia. Adjusted for population, that amounts to 5.8 Olympians per 100,000 residents — a rate higher than 43 other states and 89% higher than the national average of 3.0.

Montana trails only Vermont, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Minnesota, Alaska and New Hampshire in per-capita Olympic production since 1924. Vermont leads the nation at around 10 Olympians per 100,000 residents while Massachusetts and Hawaii narrowly exceed seven per 100,000.

California has produced more than 1,700 Olympians over the same period, the most of any state, but ranks 10th per capita at 4.5 per 100,000 residents due to its population being nearly 38 times larger than Montana as of the 2020 census.

Montana’s total includes a fairly even ratio of athletes who competed in the Summer and Winter Games. Of the state’s Olympians, 55% have been competitors in the winter Olympics with the remaining 45% participating in the Summer Olympic Games. 

That’s a contrast to Vermont, where nearly 85% of Olympians on record competed in the Winter games, and Hawaii, where 98% of Olympians have competed in Summer games.

New York and Rhode Island round out the states immediately behind Montana. The bottom of the ranking is populated by several large states, including Texas, Florida and North Carolina, which rank low on a per-capita basis despite sending dozens or even hundreds of athletes to the games.

Montana ranks 37th in its total number of Olympians since 1923.

Montana athletes have competed in sports including basketball, boxing, shooting, distance running, swimming, hockey, rowing, discus, shotput, wrestling, luge and a variety of skiing events. They include Konnor Ralph, who learned to ski at Great Divide Ski Area outside of Helena and competed in the Men’s Slopestyle and Big Air competitions in this year’s Olympic Games as well as Jake Sanderson who was part of the Men’s Hockey team’s that upset the Canadian team to bring home the gold for Team USA this year. The 2026 Winter Olympics ended on Feb. 22.

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Montanan Konnor Ralph is set to compete on one of the biggest stages in sports.

Ralph, a 23-year-old freestyle skier from Helena, qualified for the Olympic men’s freeski slopestyle event on Feb. 7 and will compete in the final beginning at 8:30 a.m. Mountain Time on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The games mark his first Olympic appearance. He is reportedly the first Helena native to be selected for a U.S. Winter Olympic team in more than 50 years. 

Ralph is also scheduled to compete later this week in freeski big air. Qualifying for the big air event is on Feb. 15, with the final round scheduled for Feb. 17. Slopestyle was added to the winter Olympics’ lineup in 2014, while big air became an Olympic event only in 2022.

Ralph advanced out of slopestyle qualifying in Livigno, Italy, on Saturday, posting a top-10 score to earn a spot in the event’s final round at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. He is scheduled to ski third in the starting order as athletes compete for medals.

For Montana, a state with deep roots in winter sports but relatively few Olympic representatives, Ralph’s qualification has already generated excitement, particularly in his hometown.

Ralph started skiing at Great Divide Ski Area near Helena at the age of two. Over time, that enthusiasm developed into a national-caliber career, culminating in his selection to represent the United States in freestyle skiing at the Olympics. Ralph earned a third-place finish at the 2024 FIS Freestyle World Cup Slopestyle event, was voted “Most Improved” by his U.S. Freeski teammates and staff that same year, and earned a second-place finish at the FIS Freestyle World Cup Big Air in 2025.

Unlike traditional ski racing events, freeski slopestyle is judged without reference to speed. Competitors ski a course featuring rails, boxes and jumps while a panel of judges score the run on a 0 to 100 scale based on difficulty, execution, amplitude and overall flow. In the qualifying round at this year’s Olympics, skiers take two runs, with the best of their two scores counting toward advancement.

Ralph’s first qualifying run was scored 68.91, which proved to be enough to advance. During his opening run, Ralph navigated three rail sections at the top of the course with a series of technical maneuvers before moving into the three jump sections. His run included multiple high-difficulty aerial tricks, each involving combinations of flips and spins, and two including four full airborne rotations. 

In the slopestyle final, each competitor will get three runs, with only the highest score counting toward medal placement.

Ralph’s second Olympic event, freeski big air, presents a different challenge. Big air competitions are built around a single jump, with skiers performing their most difficult aerial tricks for judges. The event emphasizes amplitude of rotation and clean execution, with little margin for error. In both the qualifying and final rounds, skiers take three runs. The two best scores count toward the final total, provided the tricks meet event requirements for variety.

While slopestyle tests an athlete’s ability to link a variety of tricks across an entire course, big air focuses on maximum difficulty in a single trick, requiring both technical skill and precision under pressure. 

Montana Free Press attempted to contact Team USA and Ralph’s parents by phone but was unable to reach them by the time of publication. In a Feb. 6 phone interview with the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Konnor talked about how it feels to compete for the chance to chase an Olympic medal. 

“I know there’s a lot of pressure, but I’m just trying not to overthink it,” he said. “The goal for the last five years has been to get an Olympic medal, so that’s what I’m going for.”

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Community members urged Great Falls officials to take action in response to federal immigration enforcement during a Tuesday evening meeting of the city commission, which has not indicated any plans to take up the topic.

Most of the commenters expressed concern about the tactics of federal authorities, particularly in Minnesota, where agents shot and killed two residents during demonstrations.

“What we are seeing both nationally and right here at home is a system that fails to protect people from real harm while aggressively punishing people who pose no threat at all,” said Valynda Holland of Great Falls.

Others called on city leaders to take steps that would restrict local authorities from assisting federal immigration enforcement or from entering into formal agreements with those agencies.

Marci Wolff, another Great Falls resident who said she was a veteran and identified as a person of color, spoke about the fear that nonwhite people have experienced, no matter their documentation status. Numerous reports have documented federal agents detaining U.S. citizens during public demonstrations and in raids of private homes.

“I hope that this city would protect me and everybody, no matter what race you are,” Wolff said.

Many commenters referred to a resolution passed by the Helena City Council, which last week approved a measure saying the city would not enter into any formal agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Those agreements, known as 287(g), are currently in place between federal agencies and the Montana Department of Justice, as well as sheriff’s offices in Flathead, Gallatin and Garfield counties. They allow local authorities to conduct or assist with limited immigration enforcement. 

The Helena resolution also affirmed that local police wouldn’t stop someone based on their suspected immigration status and that the city wouldn’t disclose a person’s place of birth unless required by a court order. Missoula officials are reportedly considering a similar resolution.

While most speakers decried current immigration actions, some community members approached the podium Tuesday in support of federal enforcement.

“The people we are talking about with this are people who broke the law when they crossed the border,” said Rose Stone of Great Falls. “That’s a law. People who are concerned about ICE, just stay out of their way.”

The stream of public comments was orderly, though some anticipated a disruptive atmosphere after a social media dust-up in the days before the meeting. On Jan. 31, Great Falls Mayor Cory Reeves posted on Facebook after he learned that a group was preparing to comment on immigration enforcement at the upcoming meeting.

“The commission has zero control over federal immigration enforcement or incidents that happen in other cities or states. We cannot direct, influence, or change those actions,” Reeves’ post said in part. “Public comment at commission meetings is not a free-for-all to hijack a meeting for unrelated political protests.”

The preemptive reprimand about how residents could comment at a public meeting drew a social media rebuke from another commissioner, Casey Schreiner.

“In America you get to tell your government your thoughts, ideas, and concerns,” Schreiner posted on Feb. 1. “I support everyone’s right to come to the city commission and speak your mind regarding our local government’s current or potential future actions.”

Mayor Reeves’ Facebook post included a screenshot of an email sent by Gerry Jennings, a longtime local activist. Jennings sent an email to friends and supporters urging them to “express their displeasure” with federal enforcement. The screenshot posted by Reeves included Jennings’ personal phone number.

Jennings was among the speakers at Tuesday’s commission meeting. She said it’s within the city’s jurisdiction to outline how it might or might not participate in federal enforcement. She also spoke briefly about her phone number being publicly posted by the mayor.

“That is available for anyone to see and anyone to use,” Jennings said. “Is this legal? I can’t answer that question. Is this ethical? Absolutely not.”

Local jurisdictions, like cities and states, have grappled with their roles of authority as the Trump administration has pursued aggressive immigration enforcement priorities. This has been acutely felt in Minneapolis, where local authorities are pushing for involvement in investigations over the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and looking to maintain public safety amid the turmoil.

Local legislative bodies have reacted in many ways, from an immigrants’ rights resolution in Edmonds, Washington, to an official statement of solidarity with Minneapolis approved in Prairie Village, Kansas.

In Minnesota on Tuesday, the Minneapolis City Council delayed decisions to renew liquor licenses for hotels that have hosted federal immigration authorities.

While immigration enforcement in Montana is different from the acute surges taking place in Minnesota, local law enforcement in this state has been involved in numerous federal arrests. The 2025 arrest of Beker Rengifo Del Castillo started with a traffic stop by Whitefish police. The town’s police chief said last year that U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrived after local officers reported the stop to dispatch. The man sued the police department over alleged racial profiling.

Helena officers were involved in the high-profile arrest of Christopher Martinez Marvan, who was arrested and detained last summer. Martinez Marvan also sued and alleged that his initial traffic stop was based on racial profiling.

In Great Falls, law enforcement officials have said that involvement in immigration enforcement doesn’t happen often, but there are interactions. A year ago, authorities arrested Jose Duran Valdivias, a citizen of Mexico, after Great Falls police detectives took pictures of Duran Valdivias’ ID card during an investigation and shared information with a Homeland Security agent. He pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and was placed in ICE custody last summer.

The Cascade County Detention Center is a regional holding center for immigration detainees through a contract with the federal government. The number of detainees can vary and is typically a dozen or fewer. On Wednesday, the jail roster included five people labeled as “immigration inmate.”

Local law enforcement interactions with immigration authorities are much more common in Hi-Line communities, where Border Patrol agents are more active along the Canadian border. If those arrests lead to criminal charges, many of the cases are heard at the U.S. District Court in Great Falls. 

One case moving through that courthouse is that of Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, a Froid father who ran an automotive shop for years and was arrested last month. Court documents indicate that federal authorities, not local law enforcement, initiated that arrest, though the case spurred the Roosevelt County sheriff to post on Facebook that Orozco-Ramirez posed no danger to the community.

Court records for multiple cases describe arrests initiated through interactions with the Toole County Sheriff’s Office, the Havre Police Department, the Cut Bank Police Department and the Rocky Boy Police Department, among others.

This story was updated on Feb. 9, 2026, to attribute a quote to Rose Stone. The original version of this story mistakenly attributed the quote to another person.

In-depth, independent reporting on the stories impacting your community from reporters who know your town.

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This story was updated on Jan. 28 at 7:09 p.m. to reflect new developments. 

Community members first noticed the Border Patrol cars in early January.

Though Froid — a tiny town in northeast Montana — is just 50 miles from the U.S.-Canada border, Border Patrol cars are not a common sight outside of the occasional gas station stop. About two weeks ago, however, residents told Montana Free Press that the number of Border Patrol vehicles increased. Two cars were stationed outside a local auto repair shop and one near the shop owner’s house, they said.

It didn’t take long for word to spread in the small community of about 195 people that the federal immigration agents were watching 42-year-old Roberto Orozco-Ramirez. The father of four, who is technically a citizen of Mexico, has lived in Froid with his family for more than a decade, long enough that the local auto repair shop, Orozco Diesel, bears his name. 

Orozco-Ramirez, his wife and their four sons are fixtures in the small community. His sons are active in school sports, and Orozco-Ramirez coached baseball Little League teams in his spare time. He built an auto shop where community members say he went above and beyond for customers. Though Orozco-Ramirez worked long hours, Froid residents say, he made time for school and community events, often showing up in his work clothes. 

As of this week — following a sequence of events that is forcing a deeply red town to confront their own complicated beliefs on immigration — it’s unclear if he will be in the United States much longer. 

On Sunday, Border Patrol arrested Orozco-Ramirez and he was transported to Roosevelt County Jail, about 67 miles from his house. The U.S. government charged him with illegal reentry into the country and threatening a federal officer, criminal charges that could ultimately result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, imprisonment or deportation. On Wednesday afternoon, he appeared in federal court in Great Falls. A U.S. Department of Justice lawyer wearing a black suit advocated for Orozco-Ramirez to remain in detention, calling him “dangerous.” Several of the dozen or so Froid residents, who had driven seven hours to show their support for their neighbor, shook their heads.

A public defender rebutted this, referencing a previous statement by the local sheriff stating he “posed no danger to the community.” Court documents say Orozco-Ramirez has no criminal history.

Ultimately, federal Judge John Johnston set a preliminary hearing, where a judge will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to proceed, for Feb. 5 and a detention hearing, to determine whether he should be released on bail throughout his case, on Feb. 9. He will remain in detention until then. 

Exiting the courtroom after the hearing, Orozco-Ramirez’s son, Roberto Orozco Lazcano, 18, hugged his two younger brothers. Neighbors embraced, wiping tears from their eyes. “It’s nonsense,” Brittney Nordlund, who works in Froid Public Schools, said of the allegation that Orozco-Ramirez is “dangerous.”

“They’re lying,” Rachel Sundheim, another Froid resident, said through tears. “He is the role model we want in our community.”

Their decision to travel nearly 400 miles — one way — to the hearing, which lasted all of eight minutes, was just the latest of many community efforts to show their support for their  neighbor. Though the vast majority of Orozco-Ramirez’s neighbors voted for President Donald Trump, who has made vows to deport “illegal aliens” a centerpiece of his administration, the town has rallied to support him — since his arrest they have demonstrated their outrage at Border Patrol through protests, letters to lawmakers, public Facebook posts and now their presence in the courtroom. 

“The community responded more than I ever thought,” said Orozco Lazcano, a freshman at Williston State College in North Dakota, who returned to Froid last week when his dad called and said Border Patrol was staged outside his business. “They’re giving us help I didn’t know we needed.” 

WHO IS ROBERTO OROZCO-RAMIREZ?

Most people in Froid work in agriculture, producing wheat, alfalfa and barley and raising cattle. Others work in the school, post office, bank, or oil fields. Liz Melbourne, who graduated from Froid Public Schools and whose kids now attend school there, described the 0.6 square mile town as a “storybook” community and called the recent incident with Orozco-Ramirez — one of just 11 or so Hispanic residents according to Census data — “eye-opening.”

“I think it pretty much rocked everybody’s world to see something like this,” said Melbourne. On Sunday, just before she learned that Border Patrol agents had taken Orozco-Ramirez away, Melbourne stood for five hours with a handful of protesters on the side of the road near Orozco-Ramirez’s business.

Melbourne, who doesn’t describe herself as Republican or Democrat, said she understood Trump’s immigration policy to be about arresting and deporting people who were living in the U.S. illegally and who had also committed crimes. That’s one reason why Orozco-Ramirez’s detainment came as a shock. 

“They weren’t criminals,” she said. “Roberto is a father, he opened his own business. He has a great family. They’re just model citizens.”

The other shock, for Melbourne and her neighbors, was that Trump’s national immigration crackdown had extended beyond big cities, like Chicago and Minneapolis, and infiltrated her small town. 

“That’s my fear,” she said. “It’s that I’m living in a small town and now this is in my backyard.”

To resident Laurie Young, Orozco-Ramirez and his family embodied the American dream. 

“When they moved here, they never asked for anything,” she told MTFP in an interview Monday, choking back tears. “They bought a home, put their kids in school, they built that business from the ground up. They just worked their butts off. … When I think of people coming to the U.S. for a better life, I just can’t imagine any family doing more than he has.”

Orozco-Ramirez’s diesel shop in Froid provided crucial services to community members who would otherwise have to drive an hour to Williston, North Dakota, for repairs. Keith Nordlund, a technician at a local power plant who attended the hearing with his wife Brittney, said Orozco-Ramirez once worked through the night, and in cold winter temperatures, to repair a school bus that had lost heat. 

“He did it for the school,” Nordlund said. “He did it for the kids to ensure they’d have a safe ride. He’s always looking out for everybody else. He’s doing what he can to help anybody and everybody.”

Nordlund, who’s been in touch with Orozco-Ramirez’s family, said it was obvious that Border Patrol was targeting them over the past month. Orozco-Ramirez’s children, who range in age from second grade to college, told him they couldn’t leave their house without being pulled over.

“Anytime they took off driving, Border Patrol would wait until they’re a ways away, pull them over, check the vehicle, make sure there was nobody else inside of it and then just send them on their way,” he said, adding that Orozco-Ramirez’s children were born in the U.S. and are American citizens. “They would follow them to and from school. It got so bad, all of the kids are no longer in school.” 

In a school of 81 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, Young said, those  absences felt “loud.” 

Young, another community member, confirmed that Border Patrol was often parked one block from school. “We have three streets in town. There was no avoiding them!” she said

“The kids don’t know what to do for their friends,” she said, adding that her son is friends with Orozco-Ramirez’s son. “And it’s so hard to explain to them. How do you explain that this is the culture of our country right now? There’s no good way.”

Representatives for Border Patrol did not respond to a request for comment on how they interacted with Orozco-Ramirez’s children. 

WHAT HAPPENED?

According to court filings, in March and July, two of Orozco-Ramirez’s brothers were apprehended by Border Patrol in Scobey and Bainville, two other small towns in northeast Montana. Orozco-Ramirez was then identified by Border Patrol agents in the area who believed he was in the U.S. illegally. The complaint alleges that Orozco-Ramirez “was removed” from the U.S. in 2009 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On Jan. 15, wearing plain clothes and driving in unmarked vehicles, according to the complaint, Border Patrol agents knocked on the door of Orozco Diesel. Orozco-Ramirez was suspicious of the officers and refused to let them into the building, according to court documents. Border patrol agents also accuse him of yelling threats at them as they left the area and throwing a two-by-six piece of lumber in their direction as they drove away. 

Young was not present at the time of the arrest. But the neighbor was sympathetic of a desire to throw something and yell at plain-clothed agents driving in unmarked vehicles.“ They tried to force their way in. Came back with rifles. If anyone showed up to our door in regular clothes, I would do the same thing,” she said.

On Sunday, the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Facebook post that a man, later confirmed to be Orozco-Ramirez, had surrendered to local law enforcement after Border Patrol agents were staged near a business in Froid. 

“It’s important to note that the man and his family have been productive members of the community and have had no negative interactions with local law enforcement since they moved here over a decade ago,” the Facebook post reads. “The man posed no danger to the community at any point during this incident.”

The complaint states that there is no record within the Department of Homeland Security that he applied for permission to re-enter the United States after he was removed from the U.S. by ICE in 2009. The complaint also states Orozco-Ramirez “was identified as a Surenos gang member when initially encountered in Logan, Utah.” Representatives for Border Patrol did not respond to questions about how the agency made that determination or what allegedly happened in Utah. Border Patrol made similar gang allegations in three other Montana cases in 2025 that defense attorneys disputed and judges later dismissed.

Alex Rate, legal director of ACLU Montana, said that references to gang affiliation can lack credibility. 

“We have seen that this administration has trumped up allegations of criminal behavior or gang participation in order to justify the detention and removal of an individual who otherwise had no gang affiliation or criminal history,” he said. “It’s been weaponized in a way that’s particularly harmful to immigrants and immigrant communities.”

Froid residents said they were stunned by the gang accusation. 

“That may work in a big city where people don’t know each other,” Young said. “That won’t work here.” 

The penalty for illegal re-entry in the U.S. is up to two years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, and the penalty for threatening a federal officer is up to six years imprisonment with a $250,000 fine. Either conviction could lead to deportation.

COMMUNITY ACTION AND CONCERN

Just before Orozco-Ramirez was detained Sunday, a handful of Froid community members stood on the side of the road near Orozco Diesel holding signs in support of his family. Passersby honked and waved in support. One flashed a middle finger, according to Melbourne, who attended the protest. 

And hours after the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Facebook post went up that evening, Froid residents began circulating a digital flyer, showing photos of Orozco-Ramirez and his family, reading “STAND WITH THE OROZCO’S” in big, block letters. Others encouraged people to write and call members of Montana’s delegation expressing concern. Some people, Nordlund said, collected donations to cover Orozco-Ramirez’s legal fees; others organized a meal train for his family. Young asked people to share personal statements and photos showing Orozco-Ramirez’s community involvement, should they be helpful to the family in court. 

A sample email template addressing Montana elected officials that’s circulating among Froid residents describes Orozco-Ramirez as “a respected and deeply rooted member of the community” and encourages Montana lawmakers to review his case. It also asks leaders for guidance “in determining whether any lawful pathways may exist that could allow Mr. Orozco Ramirez to pursue legal status.” Nordlund, whose son is friends with Orozco-Ramirez’s son, said he sent the email to Gov. Greg Gianforte and Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy.

Attending the hearing on Wednesday was the next logical step. Some neighbors carpooled in large SUVs. Orozco-Ramirez’s sons drove together, leaving their terrified mother and second-grade brother back in Froid. Kate Eby, a nurse in Great Falls who had never met Orozco-Ramirez, was amongst their midst. She said she heard about the hearing in Great Falls from a coworker who lived in Froid. She made sure to attend and show her support.

“It’s easy to look at Minneapolis and say it’s far away, and that doesn’t happen here,” she said. “But it does. And it’s not the same. Compared to big cities, we’re lacking resources. We’re lacking numbers. But to have community in Montana, the boundaries have to be a little bit bigger. I wanted the family to know we’re here.”

When people are taken by law enforcement, transferred to facilities and deported, she said, it’s hard to know where they end up.

“Paying attention like this keeps people safe,” she said. 

Nordlund, who expressed his support for Orozco-Ramirez on Facebook, said he’s mostly heard from people who want to help but has also received some criticism.

“They said, ‘I can’t believe you’re helping them. I can’t believe you’re doing this,’” he told MTFP. “I said, ‘You know what? Up until six months ago, I didn’t know Roberto was illegal. And he is my friend. His status doesn’t change that I am his friend.’ Do I agree with him being here illegally? No, I actually don’t. But all I can try to do is help him become legal.” 

The post When Border Patrol arrested a beloved mechanic in Froid, Montana, neighbors were forced to reckon with national immigration policy appeared first on Montana Free Press.

Amid the swirl of accusations after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti last weekend in Minnesota, some federal officials focused on the fact that Pretti carried a firearm to a public demonstration, something that often happens in Montana and is legal here.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Fox News that “you cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want.” The comment seemed to suggest additional limits on when and how someone can carry a firearm.

Similar comments prompted the National Rifle Association to push back against officials who criticized Pretti’s decision to carry a gun.

Minnesota requires a permit to carry a firearm in public. Pretti had that permit, according to local officials.

In Montana, it’s legal to bring a firearm to a protest — concealed or not. Montana is one of 29 states with so-called “constitutional carry” laws, meaning gun owners are allowed to have concealed firearms without a permit, with few exceptions.

That became law in 2021 after the Montana Legislature passed a constitutional carry bill.

“Our Second Amendment is very clear: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said at the 2021 bill signing. “Every law-abiding Montanan should be able to defend themselves and their loved ones.”

Article II of the Montana Constitution also outlines the “right to bear arms” for citizens.

Montanans can’t tote their guns anywhere, however. Exceptions in state law say that residents can’t bring guns into correctional or state-run treatment facilities. Guns can’t be brought through airport security checkpoints or onto military bases. County and federal courthouses and other buildings “owned and occupied by the United States” are also off limits.

Federal laws prohibit guns on school grounds. One of those laws, the Gun-Free School Zones Act, generally prohibits guns from areas within 1,000 feet of schools. But last fall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the indictment of a Billings man who was repeatedly seen in front of his home holding a shotgun. He lived across the street from an elementary school and was within the 1,000-foot zone.

The court’s decision was made in part because of Montana’s “unique” gun licensing law, which imposes fewer hurdles than those in other states.

Montana’s public colleges and universities generally don’t allow people to carry firearms on campus except with some narrow exceptions for law enforcement. The ability to regulate gun possession on campus rests with the Board of Regents, which challenged the applicability of constitutional carry and won a favorable Montana Supreme Court decision in 2022.

Local jurisdictions, like cities and counties, are prohibited by state law from passing stricter gun regulations except for where guns can be fired.

Private property owners, including businesses, can prohibit people from carrying guns.

For that and other reasons, Montana Shooting Sports Association President Gary Marbut told Montana Free Press that the state is No. 1 in protecting the rights of gun owners. He said his organization has shepherded 73 bills through the state Legislature to secure those rights.

“Because of that success, Montana is generally held nationally by experts who know about it as having the best gun laws in the United States,” he said.

Although Montanans can conceal carry without a permit, they can still obtain such a permit. The top reason for that is to undergo a background check at the time of permit application to avoid going through that when buying a gun, according to Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter.

“That [background check] goes on their concealed weapons permit,” Slaughter said. “So when you go into a store to buy a gun, you’re not delayed.”

In addition, permit holders can carry guns into state government buildings, according to the Montana Department of Justice. A website for the Montana Legislature says that weapons, including firearms, aren’t allowed in the Capitol building.

Montana permits are also recognized in some other states, and for others, it’s a part of the culture of gun ownership.

“Some people just want to be seen as a sheriff-certified good guy for a variety of reasons, including for any interaction with law enforcement,” Marbut said.

Marbut declined to comment specifically on Pretti’s killing. He called Patel’s comments part of an “East Coast mentality” that ignores the prevalence of gun ownership in other places like Montana.

Slaughter also declined to comment on Pretti, saying that a fuller investigation is necessary before making a judgment.

The post What does Montana law say about carrying a concealed firearm? appeared first on Montana Free Press.

Less than 24 hours after terminating about $2 billion in substance abuse and mental health grants nationwide, the Trump administration reversed itself and restored the funding.  

In Montana, state public health officials and advocacy groups told Montana Free Press Wednesday that local suicide prevention, addiction recovery and other mental health programs had lost millions of dollars in federal funding overnight. Many expressed shock and confusion after receiving a letter from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, also known as SAMHSA, which said grant money that had already been distributed would be clawed back.

In a Thursday morning email to the Montana state health department, however, officials with SAMHSA directed the state to “disregard” the previous notification canceling the grants. The email was shared with MTFP by a state health department spokesperson.

“[T]he termination of your federal award, previously communicated on January 13, 2026, pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.340(a)(4), is hereby rescinded,” the federal notice read. “Your award will remain active under its original terms and conditions. Please disregard the prior termination notice and continue program activities as outlined in your award agreement.”

The email did not provide an explanation for the sudden reversal. The state spokesperson, Jon Ebelt, told MTFP that the notices referred to two grants totalling roughly $2 million annually: the Partnerships for Success grant that aims to reduce youth substance misuse, and the Strengthening Families Initiative that works to prevent substance use disorders among pregnant and postpartum women.

Lewis and Clark Public Health Officer Drenda Niemann also confirmed to MTFP that her office received notice that the termination — which would have ended a $125,000 suicide prevention grant — had been rescinded. 

“We will continue to have the grant funds for suicide prevention work through September 2026 as originally planned,” she wrote in an email Thursday. 

Missoula County received notice that funding was being restored for the Systems of Care program, which expands mental health and supportive services for youth and families, according to communications manager Allison Franz. The county, Franz said, is still waiting to hear the status of a grant supporting the Frenchtown Community Coalition.

Casey Schreiner, chief strategy officer at Alluvion Health in Great Falls, said the organization received notice Wednesday that a $545,000 grant for a program addressing substance abuse disorder among young people was cut. Organization leaders began speaking with staff members on the program about potential impacts, but by Thursday, Alluvion received notice of the reversal. 

“It does not go without hiccups because you still had to have some hard conversations,” Schreiner said. 

Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, which on Wednesday announced the cuts would cancel a substance use prevention project on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, wrote in a Thursday statement it was “tremendously relieved” to see the terminations reversed. 

“Yesterday was such a challenging one for our staff and the families we serve,” the group wrote in a public Facebook post. 

Also on Thursday morning, a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Steve Daines emailed a MTFP reporter a link to a POLITICO article stating that the grants had been reinstated, with no other context or statements.

Daines’ office had not responded to Wednesday’s inquiries from MTFP about the cuts. A spokesperson, Gabby Wiggins, did not reply to an additional request for a statement from Daines about the reversal or a question about whether the senator had communicated with the Trump administration about the grant cuts.

Reporters Katie Fairbanks, JoVonne Wagner and Matt Hudson contributed to this story.

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MISSOULA — Roughly 600 people gathered on Beartracks Bridge on Sunday evening to honor Renee Good, a Minnesota mother and poet who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

The vigil, organized by Indivisible Missoula and Missoula Resists, also marked the deaths of others killed by ICE agents during the second term of President Donald Trump. 

There were more than 1,000 “Ice Out for Good” events planned for the weekend, according to the coalition of organizing groups. Protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday. Demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, rallied Saturday outside of a hospital where ICE brings detainees injured during arrests, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Federal agents shot and injured two people in Portland on Jan. 8. 

About 100 people joined a vigil held by community groups outside Helena’s federal courthouse on Friday. Vigils and protests were planned in recent days in Bozeman, Butte, Red Lodge, Kalispell, Whitefish and Lake County, according to the national coalition. 

In Missoula, many vigil participants held candles and stopped to read three cardboard signs listing the names of more than 30 people, along with Good, who died in ICE custody in 2025 and so far in 2026. Signs also included the name Keith Porter, Jr., who was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. 

Organizer Meredith Printz of Missoula said the groups decided on a candlelight vigil without speeches for solemnity. 

“Human lives have value, and it just feels like this regime does not see it that way,” she said. “We need to honor the people that have fallen and call attention to what’s going on and give people a chance to come together and mourn and raise our voices in song.” 

At 4:45 p.m., people threw blocks and cubes of ice into the Clark Fork River to represent the demand for ICE to leave communities. Robin Brown, who stood by one of the several coolers of ice stationed along the bridge, said she attended the vigil because “what’s happening in our country is wrong and what happened to Renee Good is horrendous.” 

“I just want to stand up and say, ‘I won’t tolerate this,’’’ she said. “It’s not what the American people believe in as a whole.” 

Barron Peper with Missoula Sings, a group that organizes community gatherings, led the group in several songs, including “And When I Rise” and “This Little Light of Mine.” 

Peper said song can help people connect more deeply during protests. 

“So often we don’t just need solutions and actions,” he said. “We need to feel things, and we need to feel things together and have experiences together so we can metabolize what’s happening so that when we actually go out and do something, it’s coming from a place that is grounded in togetherness not in reactivity and anger or hate.” 

Throughout the hour-long vigil, cars crossing the Beartracks Bridge honked in support of the group. Many people were holding signs honoring Good or with anti-ICE slogans, including “ICE out now,” “Justice for Renee Good,” and “We saw the video,” referring to the dueling descriptions of the incident leading to Good’s death. 

Protester Sophie Trudgeon held a fabric sign that read “I’m pissed” on one side and “f— ICE” on the other. 

“I’m just really upset by the actions of ICE and the entire Trump administration,” she said. “I feel like they’re violating [the] Constitution, civil rights and really attacking our Black and brown neighbors who have made this country so great.” 

Rose Zee, an organizer with Missoula Resists, said the group has taken several immigration-related actions in the last year, including holding protests and encouraging outreach to elected officials.

“We’re seeing first-hand communities that are terrified, communities that are being torn apart and lives lost,” she said. “All of us are grieving separately. It’s really important that we come together as a community, and what you can see today with the hundreds … [of] people who are here is that our community is distraught, and our community is ready to take action. And so we’re happy to provide a way for people to come together, find community, but also figure out how they can take action.” 

ICE IN MONTANA

In Montana, the most recent high-profile ICE action occurred in July 2025 when federal officers detained Christopher Martinez Marvin following a traffic stop. The 31-year-old Mexican citizen had been living in Helena on and off since 2008. Law enforcement officers were jointly pursuing a different man who they said was subject to a criminal warrant when they pulled over Martinez Marvan in an apparent case of mistaken identity. Martinez Marvan was taken to a Customs and Border Patrol station and then to the Cascade County Detention Center in Great Falls, according to court documents. Attorneys for Martinez Marvin argued for his release, saying racial profiling led to his arrest. A federal judge denied his petition for release, citing a lack of jurisdiction over the case. 

The incident sparked outrage across the state. Helena community members demanded information from officials. Missoula residents gathered outside the federal courthouse to express support for Martinez Marvin during a July hearing. Cascade County Detention Center is the only jail in Montana with a contract to hold immigration detainees for longer than 72 hours, and Great Falls residents condemned the county’s role during a July meeting. That same month, the Flathead Beacon reported that U.S. Border Patrol officers arrested eight people over the course of two traffic stops in Whitefish. 

The following month, ICE reportedly took 17 people into custody at a construction site in Bigfork. In May of last year, immigration authorities deported eight children, some of whom are U.S. citizens, following the arrest of 21 people near the Montana-Canada border. 

Last fall, authorities arrested and detained Justin Grzeb, a United Kingdom citizen who married a U.S. citizen. Grzeb was riding his bike in Havre when a Customs and Border Protection officer reportedly pulled him over. A mother and daughter from Honduras who were living in the Flathead Valley were arrested and detained in November after arriving at the scene of a car crash.

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A Lake County attorney who was elected judge but resigned before even taking the bench was sentenced to three years of probation Friday in the very courtroom he was once going to oversee. 

Kenneth Britton “Britt” Cotter pleaded guilty in November to three felony drug charges — one count of solicitation to commit criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and two counts of attempted criminal possession of dangerous drugs — as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Cotter received three three-year deferred sentences that will run concurrently, meaning he will not serve any jail time. He will also have to pay fees totaling $370. 

The case against Cotter began in 2024 while the Montana Department of Justice was investigating the billing practices of another attorney in northwest Montana. As part of that investigation, the department secured text messages between someone identified as “A. Doe” and Cotter where the two discussed purchasing and using cocaine, according to charging documents. 

In one text exchange, Cotter wrote, “I need more medicine girl.” A. Doe responded, “I’m about to put in an order. How much?”

According to prosecutors, investigators found two Venmo payments from Cotter to A. Doe that corresponded to the prices they discussed for drugs. On July 21, 2022, Cotter sent A. Doe $900 via Venmo for “Legal Fees” and on Oct. 4, 2022, he paid $1,200 for “work.”

In early 2024, Cotter announced he was running for the 20th District Court seat in Lake and Sanders counties after the previous judge, Deborah “Kim” Christopher, resigned following allegations of unethical behavior. Cotter ran unopposed and won the judgeship in November of that year. 

Shortly after the election, Department of Justice investigators met with Cotter in Polson and asked him about his relationship with A. Doe. According to court documents, Cotter said he had not seen them for several years and had not spoken with them for several months. He also confirmed that A. Doe had a substance abuse issue but declined to discuss the matter further. Investigators then asked if Cotter had a substance abuse issue himself or if he had ever purchased drugs from A. Doe. Cotter denied both allegations and ended the conversation. 

Charging documents state that in late November 2024, investigators spoke with Flathead County District Court Judge Amy Eddy. Eddy said that she had spoken with Cotter on Nov. 18, after learning about his alleged cocaine abuse. During that conversation, Cotter reportedly said that he had “bought cocaine from [A. Doe] a long time ago” but that he stopped when he decided to run for judge. Eddy told Cotter that she would be making a report to the Judicial Standards Commission about his alleged drug use. The following day, during a training session for newly elected judges in Helena, Cotter spoke to Eddy in person. He asked if there was any way she would not file a complaint. Eddy said that was not an option and that she had an ethical obligation to report it. Later, Cotter texted Eddy asking if he could have a “chance to resolve this,” according to charging documents. In another text, he wrote to Eddy, “Would resigning have any impact on charges? I guess I’m asking if there is a deal to be made.” 

On Dec. 22, 2024, Cotter wrote to former Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice McGrath informing him that he would not take the stand in January. The following day, he was formally charged by the Montana Department of Justice. Cotter pleaded not guilty in January of last year, before taking a plea deal in November.

On Friday, Cotter appeared before Judge Jennifer Lint, a Ravalli County District Court judge appointed to handle the case. During her sentencing recommendation, Assistant Montana Attorney General Meghann Paddock quoted President Teddy Roosevelt in that “no man is above the law or below the law.” However, she applauded Cotter for seeking treatment in the year since he was charged and staying clean. The state and defense jointly recommended the deferred sentence. Besides the $370 in fees, Cotter will also have to cover the cost of his supervision by the Department of Corrections. 

When asked if he had anything he wanted to say to the court, Cotter kept his remarks brief.

“I am so very sorry for my bad behavior, and I’m grateful to the people who have supported me,” he said. 

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