Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Fear And Loathing In Montana
Fear And Loathing In Montana
by By Ryan Lenz | Illustration By Sunny Paulk
February 17, 2016
On a decaying former Air Force base, antigovernment sovereign citizens are battling the few remaining locals for control
ST. MARIE, Mont. Howling winds sweep across the high plains. Weeds spring up in gravel streets that bend through the empty neighborhoods that once housed a vibrant community of airmen at the forefront of the Cold War. Only the sight of an occasional human dispels the atmosphere of total abandonment.
....
Three years ago, much to the consternation and bewilderment of those who lived there, odd signs began to appear around the bleak remains of the community, posted on homes, the dilapidated officers club, the former school and more.
....
It was in late 2012 when the three strangers showed up, {Pat Kelly, a former Air Force officer with dreams of turning St. Marie into a retirement community where military veterans could swap stories and maybe play a round of golf on the course he planned to build,} said, telling him that they had plans to build camps for the surge of workers then flocking to the Bakken. They said they represented a Washington state company called DTM Enterprises. Welcoming them, Kelly put them up in a guesthouse he kept on his property. Then, to his shock and surprise, DTM Enterprises paid $187,086.43 in back taxes on 371 of his properties, leaving Kelly with only 60 days to regain them by settling the tax debt. Although that worked out to an average of just $504.28 per home, Kelly was unable to come up with the money and lost out to DTM.
....
Kelly has some historical reasons to be concerned. It was just two years ago that Craig Cobb, a foul-mouthed neo-Nazi, attempted to take control of another near ghost town, Leith, N.D., to build a white supremacist enclave. And just two hours drive from St. Marie, the Montana Freemen, whose beliefs were close to those of todays sovereigns, declared their own independent Justus Township in 1996. That group engaged in an 81-day standoff before finally surrendering to the FBI.
by By Ryan Lenz | Illustration By Sunny Paulk
February 17, 2016
On a decaying former Air Force base, antigovernment sovereign citizens are battling the few remaining locals for control
ST. MARIE, Mont. Howling winds sweep across the high plains. Weeds spring up in gravel streets that bend through the empty neighborhoods that once housed a vibrant community of airmen at the forefront of the Cold War. Only the sight of an occasional human dispels the atmosphere of total abandonment.
....
Three years ago, much to the consternation and bewilderment of those who lived there, odd signs began to appear around the bleak remains of the community, posted on homes, the dilapidated officers club, the former school and more.
....
It was in late 2012 when the three strangers showed up, {Pat Kelly, a former Air Force officer with dreams of turning St. Marie into a retirement community where military veterans could swap stories and maybe play a round of golf on the course he planned to build,} said, telling him that they had plans to build camps for the surge of workers then flocking to the Bakken. They said they represented a Washington state company called DTM Enterprises. Welcoming them, Kelly put them up in a guesthouse he kept on his property. Then, to his shock and surprise, DTM Enterprises paid $187,086.43 in back taxes on 371 of his properties, leaving Kelly with only 60 days to regain them by settling the tax debt. Although that worked out to an average of just $504.28 per home, Kelly was unable to come up with the money and lost out to DTM.
....
Kelly has some historical reasons to be concerned. It was just two years ago that Craig Cobb, a foul-mouthed neo-Nazi, attempted to take control of another near ghost town, Leith, N.D., to build a white supremacist enclave. And just two hours drive from St. Marie, the Montana Freemen, whose beliefs were close to those of todays sovereigns, declared their own independent Justus Township in 1996. That group engaged in an 81-day standoff before finally surrendering to the FBI.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 1548 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Fear And Loathing In Montana (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Feb 2016
OP
BlueMTexpat
(15,369 posts)1. Thanks for posting.
MT is my birth state and I'll be travelling there in March to visit family & friends. We have had some real nutcases - more often from not than elsewhere - who end up in some of the more remote areas.
Here's some more information about St. Marie, MT, which is in the NE corner of the state along the Canadian border.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Marie,_Montana
One of our more infamous residents (for a time) = Unabomber Ted Kacynski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski), who took refuge in Lincoln, MT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln,_Montana In the 1970s, my children and I frequently used to drive from Missoula to Great Falls and back, making a food/rest stop in Lincoln on the way. Lincoln has since been inundated with nutcase groups - not sure whether I'd willingly stop there any time soon. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/the-next-bundy-ranch-militia-groups-flock-to-montana-to-square-off-with-feds-over-mining-dispute/
Montana also had an active RW militia group, which has since been virtually disbanded: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_of_Montana
I really wish that the nutcases would either stay away or just kill each other off instead of coming to my beautiful birth state to indulge their delusions. There are lots of good people there whom I know and love.
mgmaggiemg
(869 posts)2. yeah I remember these stories thank's for posting