by Helena Lovick | Apr 26, 2025 | Militia and Hate Groups, Protests, Rallies
Several rallies have sprung up in Great Falls in response to the extreme cuts to government services being implemented and proposed by the Trump administration. Thousands of federal workers have lost their jobs, federal funding for research, cuts to VA services, proposed cuts to Medicaid, and more have damaged the ability of the US government to effectively serve the people and prepare for the future.
A grassroots movement called “50501” has been helping to coordinate nationwide demonstrations since the second Trump inauguration. Well, the only real coordination the 50501 movement does is to select a date for nationwide protests. Then local organizers do all of the legwork for individual protests.
In Great Falls, several 50501-inspired rallies have been organized including a rally on March 4th, April 5th, April 19th, and one is slated for May 1st.
Images of Event Flyers for Local 50501 Rallies
I’ve attended dozens of rallies in Great Falls, and these recent rallies have been some of the largest if not the largest in our city that I’ve ever seen. For the Great Falls April 5th rally, over 800 people gathered outside the Federal Courthouse and along the Central Ave W bridge. It’s almost like the people are pissed about the reckless cuts and undermining of government services. Let’s make government more efficient and cost less by gutting it completely. Sure, that’ll work out great for….billionaires, not so much for everyday Montanans.
Right Wing Trolls
Of course, right wing trolls are annoyed that people aren’t worshipping their cult leader. Shit stirrers posted “just asking” questions and rounded that up to death threats. An exchange seen on Facebook was screenshot and sent to our blog a few days before the April 5th Rally. The post and alarming responses such as “I’m shooting if it gets too funny” were posted in the Ask Great Falls Montana Group. I checked and saw the post live in the group on March 30th, I saw several threatening comments be taken down or hidden by the group administrators. And now I see that the post was completely taken down.
Screenshots of Troll Comments about Great Falls April 5th Rally
It sucks when people post crap like that to be intimidating and to feel big. But activists can’t let it stop their work; we just have to be as prepared as we can be.
Likely these trolls didn’t like the outpouring of support the rally was generating. Luckily, the threats of violence never materialized and just a pathetic group of about 5 counter protesters showed up. 800 rally attendees to 5 counter protesters. Welp, it looks like a large majority of people aren’t brainwashed to wave a conman’s flag.
View of April 5th, 2025 Rally in Great Falls
Upcoming Rallies in Great Falls
If people want to continue to visibly resist the current bullshit happening in our country two rallies are scheduled this coming week.
Flyer of April 29th Medicaid Rally
A Hands Off Medicaid Rally will be held in Great Falls at Noon on Tuesday, April 29th, at the Great Falls Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Ave W.
Another May Day Protest will be held on Thursday, May 1st at 5:30 PM at the Great Falls Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Ave W. The Facebook event can be found here.
by Ken Toole | Apr 26, 2025 | City, Elections
On April 18th Jasmine Taylor filed to run for mayor, challenging incumbent Cory Reeves. In addition to being one of the founders and frequent contributor to WTF406.com, she is a life long resident of Great Falls and has been active in a number of progressive issues here in the electric city.
Jasmine Taylor running for Great Falls mayor in 2025
For those who complain that politicians are all the same, take heart, it is hard to imagine two candidates who are more different than Taylor and Reeves. These two have dramatically different positions on many of the problems facing Great Falls. The filing deadline for the Mayor’s race is June 16.
Taylor will be taking a “leave” from the blog for the duration of the campaign. We will still write about the city elections and take positions on the issues but Jasmine won’t be writing posts. Thanks for reading.
by Ken Toole | Apr 21, 2025 | Elections, Guest Articles
Ballots for the Great Falls School Board Trustee election will be coming out soon. There are
three positions to be filled, and four candidates. I’ve been asked by several folks in our
community who I support for these positions. These are my picks:
Gordon Johnson: incumbent, running for a third term. Gordon is our current board chair, one
of the best we’ve had. He is a strong supporter of public education, generously lending his time
and talents. He deserves a third term.
Paige Turoski: incumbent, running for a second term. Paige works with me on the Board
Budget and Policy committees. She’s a good hand. She is well-liked by our administrative
team. Her two sons are enrolled at Valley View Elementary. I support her re-election.
Craig Duff: newcomer, seeking to win the seat being vacated by Mark Finnicum. I’ve met and
spoken to Craig. He is retired law enforcement, and now volunteers at his son’s school,
Meadowlark Elementary, where he also serves on the school PTA. He has received the
endorsement of the local teacher’s union, and deservedly so, as he has a very strong commitment to our local schools.
Mail ballots will be coming out shortly. Please vote for Gordon, Paige and Craig.
Bill Bronson
Great Falls Public School Board Trustee
by Ken Toole | Apr 18, 2025 | Guest Articles
Guest Editorial By Judge Judith Roberts
As an attorney I’m deeply alarmed by an incident that occurred just this week and feel compelled to share it—to raise awareness of the legal and constitutional crossroads we are rapidly approaching.A co-worker of mine (who is a judge), traveled by train from Montana to North Dakota for work this week. The train made a stop in Havre, MT, where ICE agents—armed and dressed in full military-style tactical gear—boarded the train. They walked the full length of the train and questioned every single passenger about their citizenship status. According to the conductor, who has worked nearly 40 years on that route, this was a first. In all his decades of service, federal agents have never boarded his train like this.
This is not a hypothetical. This is not a scene from a dystopian film. This happened this week to my colleague, on U.S. soil, to U.S. citizens, legal residents, and foreign tourists here on holiday, without a warrant, without probable cause—based solely on geography.
Under current law ICE has expanded authority to operate within 100 miles of any border. But HOW that authority is being interpreted and exercised has chilling implications for civil liberties, freedom of movement, and equal protection under the law.
This isn’t about politics—it’s about the erosion of rights we’ve taken for granted, and the slow normalization of military-style policing tactics in everyday spaces. Even if technically permissible, these actions reflect a disturbing shift in the balance between civil liberties and governmental authority. The normalization of militarized immigration enforcement in public spaces, without individualized suspicion, risks setting dangerous precedents that erode the freedoms we are sworn to uphold.
This is not about ideology—it is about the integrity of our legal system. I am compelled to speak up because there is no justification for circumventing the very rights and principles that define our democracy.
The question is not whether you “have something to hide.” The question is how much unchecked authority we’re willing to allow before we can no longer call this a free society.
Judge Judith Roberts is a practicing attorney with 20 years of experience. She is currently a judge in North Dakota.
For a news story on this issue follow this link:
https://www.havredailynews.com/story/2025/04/17/local/amtrak-passenger-says-questioned-by-ice-in-havre-about-citizenship/547792.html
by Ken Toole | Apr 15, 2025 | Elections
This post is comprised of Facebook posts which appeared on Mayor Cory Reeves’ Facebook page. It begins with his tongue-in-cheek solicitation for campaign contributions for watching the Mayor take a shower ($5) or taking a shower with him ($10). I commented about the ad. Full disclosure- I mistakenly thought this was an official page from the city because the name of the page is Mayor Cory Reeves and is dominated by posts about city government. The page is categorized as “Public & Government Service.” He also has another page which is named “Cory Reeves.” Still, it was my mistake. I included that in my last comment to Mayor Reeves.
I have not copied other comments from individuals who are not public officials. But let me also say for the record that they were mostly supportive of the Mayor. I encourage anyone who is really curious to take a look at the Facebook page Mayor Cory Reeves. But, it appears that Tryon deleted his comments and my responses or maybe it was a Facebook algorithm. Our readers can decide what they think on their own.
Reeves’ campaign solicitation begins with the following statement above a photo. I deleted the address.
It’s already that time—campaign season is kicking off!
We’re excited to continue the work of moving our community forward, and as always, your support means the world. Whether it’s your encouragement, your time, your vote, or your donations, it all makes a difference.
If you’d like to contribute to the campaign, donations can be mailed to:
Cory Reeves
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Great Falls, MT 59405
Let’s keep the momentum going! (Max donation is $450)
Despite the fact that it was obviously a joke, I made the following comment on his post.
City Commissioner Rick Tryon responded with his usual vitriol to my comment and I replied. My post referenced an email he had sent to a Canadian citizen who complained to him about Trump’s tariffs. See our previous post. https://wtf406.com/2025/03/canadian-emails-reeves-and-tryon-just-dont-want-them/
Then Reeves responded to my comment.
Mayor Cory Reeves
Ken Toole Ken, you’ve got a gift. Truly. Only you could read a joke and turn it into a personal crisis. Can’t wait for your article—your talent for dramatic reinterpretation is unmatched. Pulitzer-worthy stuff, really. Keep swinging, champ!
Finally, I made the following response to Reeves.
After this back and forth appeared in comments on the Mayor Cory Reeves Facebook page, I received an email with a link to an Electric story about an ethics complaint filed against Commissioner Tracy Hauck for putting a notice on her Facebook page about a women’s march. The complaint was filed by Jeni Dodd who writes occasionally for E-City Beat along with Rick Tryon. The Electric wrote, “The Facebook page is not owned, provided, operated or maintained by the city, but when elected or appointed officials use a social media site in their official duties, they’re supposed to notify the city and the city has a software system that captures the posts to maintain a public record.” https://theelectricgf.com/2019/02/08/city-ethics-committee-hears-first-complaint-regarding-houcks-social-media-post/
In addition, Reeves has changed his Mayor Cory Reeves Facebook page cover to mimic the design of his campaign graphic. He also posted the complete campaign graphic with the words Re-Elect Mayor Cory Reeves
I am not a supporter of either Cory Reeves or Rick Tryon. In this exchange they do nothing to address the underlying issue of the mayor soliciting contributions on a Facebook page that has every appearance of a public official. In any other context (like a personal page) I wouldn’t have commented, though I don’t think it is particularly funny. Instead, both of them respond with personal attacks and sarcasm. Great Falls deserves better leadership.
