August Action Items - Protecting the Flathead against extremism

Most of us are thinking about summer vacations, but anti-government extremists are very active in the Flathead Valley and around the state. Please spend a 10-15 minutes writing to local officials on these important issues. We need to step up now to resist the influence these groups want to have over the county sheriff’s department and local schools.

Please send these emails by noon on Monday, August 9!

Rejecting Richard Mack

When Richard Mack gave a presentation in Kalispell in June, he was also scheduled to give a training on “constitutional sheriffs” to local law enforcement officers. This perspective, which encourages officers to ignore federal and state laws they don’t like, is based on a misinterpretation the US Constitution called County supremacy. County supremacy is the core of militia ideology.

The training was organized by the local anti-government, pro-militia group Flathead Liberty Coalition. We’re not sure who approved the training (which was later canceled) or why, but this article on the situation raises a lot of questions. 

We understand that it can be hard to research every person who offers a training, but this is alarming. Richard Mack has a long, well-documented history of anti-government activity, and he has often shared a stage with antisemitic conspiracy theorists. This attempt to normalize the militia ideology of county supremacy and provide a gateway into more dangerous anti-government is very dangerous.  

Action item 
Please email the executive director of the board that oversees the POST program, Perry Johnson, at pjohnson@mt.gov. You can also email Attorney General Austin Knudsen at the Department of Justice, which gave final approval for this training. Click here, then select “General Contact” to send your email.

Anti-mask activists attack school boards

The school year is about to start, and we know that anti-mask activists are poised to flood local school boards with misinformation and demands to remove any mask recommendations or mandates. We need to be kind, encouraging, and proactive if we want to keep students safe this year. 

Talking points 

Please keep your message simple and polite! You don’t need to provide lots of data or a dissertation. It’s okay to offer 2 to 3 sentences of support and say that you’re fine with a mask mandate because cases and hospitalizations are high again, and we’re seeing more children impacted. 

  • Thank school board members for protecting student health last year with mask mandates, social distancing, limits on group sizes, and sanitizing protocols. Schools boards and teachers were heroes!

  • Tell them you support social distancing and a mask mandate this year and/or you would be fine with a mask mandate related to some data threshold, like number of COVID-19 cases in the valley or school district.  

  • Suggest that masks should be “strongly recommended,” not “optional.” Words matter.  

  • Remind them that the Secretary of Education just recommended in-person instruction and masks for students. Article here.

  • State that COVID-19 prevention in schools makes in-person instruction possible, and that’s best for students, teachers, parents, and the economy.

Contact info 

Please add your school superintendent's info in the comments, if you don't see it here. 

• Kalispell District 5, Micah Hill - hillm@sd5.k12.mt.us

• Whitefish Public Schools - Superintendent Dave Means

• West Valley Schools, Superintendent Cal Ketchum - cketchum@westvalleyschool.com

• Columbia Falls Schools, Superintendent Dave Wick - d_wick@cfmtschools.net 

• Bigfork Schools, Superintendent Tom Stack - tstack@bigfork.k12.mt.us 

• Somers/Lakeside school board -  https://www.somersdist29.org/board 

You can also email the school board trustees for Kalispell Public Schools individually.

Every email makes a difference! We are running a marathon to push back against the attacks by anti-government rhetoric in the Flathead, and we appreciate your efforts to help make our community stronger and safer for everyone.

 Any questions?

Please contact Cherilyn at info@loveliveshereflathead.org.

Cherilyn DeVries