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A bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Davies (R-Bozeman) sounds pretty wacky. House Bill 253 would require Montana's attorney general to sue the United States to transfer ownership of 27 million acres of federal land over to Montana. The Militia of Montana (MOM) circulated an e-mail outlining why the bill should be supported. As if those two factors weren't enough, the ideology of those testifying in favor of the bill truly illustrated the bill's extreme nature. A majority of them either had ties to anti-government groups or used language common to those groups.

In his opening remarks to the House Natural Resources Committee, Davies said some of the people who would testify in support of HB 253 had logged some miles to get to the hearing. As for the bill, he stated, "The federal government has exceeded its Constitutional limits," and his bill was one remedy. He then turned over the explanation of the bill to former state senator Casey Emerson.

Emerson testified that the government could only constitutionally own land in three circumstances: to maintain postal routes, create the District of Columbia and build facilities like hospitals or military bases. In all other cases, the federal government had to purchase land from the state. Emerson claimed a suit initiated by Montana's attorney general would go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court. Once there, Emerson was sure the court would agree with his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. A favorable ruling by the court would give Montana an economic boost from managing the land.

It was Emerson who authored the e-mail circulated by MOM. He asked people to write letters supporting the bill to newspapers and legislators. The message also listed a website pertaining to the bill. It could be found on the website for Emerson's business, King Tool. It's more than just a coincidence that the message ended up being distributed by MOM. Throughout the 1990s, a militia group called Citizens for a Free America held meetings at King Tool. The group was the Bozeman affiliate of MOM. During his time as a senator, Emerson spoke at one of the group's meetings. Two other members of Citizens for a Free America also testified in favor of HB 253: Clinton Cain and Steve McNeil.

Clinton Cain told a shadowy tale of a heavy-handed government to the committee. In order to get into the Union, Cain claimed Montana had to cede land to the federal government. "The federal government blackmailed the state...to gain statehood," Cain claimed. He was an active member of the Bozeman militia group. As late as last year, MOM listed Cain as a contact point for militia groups in the Bozeman area. He also attended an anti-government rally in Libby last year. The event drew militia and white supremacist activists from Montana and Idaho. The event was capped off with the burning of a United Nations flag.

Steve McNeil also gave testimony favoring HB 253. Like Cain, he was active in Citizens for a Free America and attended the rally in Libby. He is also a self-proclaimed "constitutionalist" and has appeared numerous times in court for freemen practices. In 1995, he was cited for having homemade license plates on his vehicle, a common freemen tactic. In 1997, a court found him guilty of trying to pay fines with a bogus check. The check was signed by LeRoy Schweitzer, leader of the Montana Freemen. Schweitzer was already in prison for his activities with the Freemen.

Others testifying at the hearing invoked anti-government ideology. One man alluded to the e-mail distributed by MOM. A Kalispell man claimed he was a "sovereign citizen." The term is frequently used by freemen. Freemen believe that severing all contracts with the government, such as license plates and social security numbers, allows them to live outside the law as "sovereign." The same man also alluded to the one-world government conspiracy theory propagated by militia groups. He said the attorney general was actually an "international agent" and most of state government is run by "corporate agents."

The House Natural Resources Committee tabled the bill.

"It's disturbing to see a member of Montana's Legislature courting the support of members of extremist, anti-government groups like the Militia of Montana," said Greg Haegele, interim MHRN director.