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Articles written by Mara Silvers Montana Free Press


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  • Judge Laird Dismisses Child Protection Case And Contempt Hearing For Kolstads

    Mara Silvers Montana Free Press, For the Courier|Feb 28, 2024

    A highly public child protection case involving a transgender teenager that has stirred up online conservative outrage, created blowback for Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and sparked legal challenges at the Montana Supreme Court was dismissed on Feb. 20. The decision on Feb. 20 to dismiss the case by state district court Judge Yvonne Laird, a copy of which was reviewed by Montana Free Press, comes after the child’s placement earlier this month with their biological mother in Canada over the objection of their father and stepmother, Todd K...

  • Gianforte Rebuts Far-Right Accusations About Child Protection Case In Glasgow

    Mara Silvers Montana Free Press, For the Courier|Feb 7, 2024

    Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is defending the state health department’s actions in an active child protective case against a wave of online criticism from conservative groups, including some far-right, anti-LGBTQ social media accounts, an unusually public commentary from the state’s highest elected official about confidential child welfare proceedings. In a series of Monday afternoon, Jan. 29, posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Gianforte responded to direct call-outs from prominent anti-transgender commenters who alleged tha...