MARCH 24, 2026
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THIS WEEK:
- We Will Persist, Defy, Prevail
- Public Meeting: City Looking to Rescind Helena’s ICE Resolution
- Mark Your Calendar
- Good Reads / Good Watches / Good Listens
- This Week’s TO-DO List for the Good Trouble In Helena
The NO KINGS III rally on Saturday will show “that tyranny cannot succeed where people refuse to submit to it … show each of us that we’re not alone … Our march next Saturday will demonstrate that we will not be silenced.” —Robert Reich
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Shoulder to Shoulder,
We Will Persist, Defy, Prevail
NO KINGS III is back on Flag Plaza! This means chairs for those who need them, open ramps for wheelchairs, and tabling by community organizations ready to help you find more ways to contribute to the resistance and to the well being of our neighbors.
As we demand that democracy receive the respect it so deserves, plot twists and sharp turns have become the new norm. The volume and magnitude of voices that rose up in disbelief, anger, and indignation to protest the cancellation of permitted weekend rallies clearly caught the attention of those behind the “new policy.”
Being denied the rights of freedom of speech and freedom to assemble pushed Indivisible Helena and its partners to respond with nimble creativity. We all stayed true to our deep dedication and commitment to providing a space for our community to continue growing the resistance to authoritarianism, warmongering, environmental atrocities, and trampling of human rights.
With at least 3,000 rallies scheduled nationwide, No Kings III has the potential to become the single largest nationwide protest ever recorded. You can contribute to that by bringing friends who have not yet attended or who have hesitations about protesting.
We have nearly 40 trained crowd support volunteers and full public safety support from the Montana Highway Patrol and the Helene Police Department.
The movement is pledged to non-violence. You can expect a program filled with energy, collective expressions, calls to action, and plenty of chances to connect with each other.
Toppling quickly growing authoritarian regimes requires the strength and energy of sizable collective communities focused on a full-throated call to defend democracy.
Together, shoulder to shoulder, we will persist, defy, and prevail.
Be the Community You Want to See
Waking Giant will be collecting non-perishable food items and personal hygiene products at the NO KINGS III rally, for stocking the two Little Free Pantries located at the two PureView Healthcare facilities. Be kind, Be generous.
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City Looking to Rescind Helena’s ICE Resolution
Join the Public Meeting at the Civic Center This Thursday, March 26, at 5:30 p.m.
In an unexpected turnabout, the Helena City Commission will debate a ‘motion to rescind’ the ICE Resolution it passed two short months ago after months of work and at the virtually unanimous urging and support of hundreds of Helena citizens. The announcement to rescind comes with no explanation and scant information for the public.
The resolution defines what the Helena city police department can and cannot do in aiding the actions of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.
Public testimony, Commission discussion, and a vote is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 5:30 p.m. Mayor Emily Dean called for a public meeting after a hired outside counsel and City Attorney Rebecca Dockter urged fully rescinding the resolution.
The passage of the resolution followed nine months of public and city government discussions, numerous renditions and edits, and was passed with the majority support of the Helena City Commission and a green light from the Helena City Attorney, who is quoted as “being comfortable” with the resolution, in that she believes it meets all applicable laws.
After passage of the resolution, Governor Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austen Knudsen threatened Helena with an investigation, lawsuit, fines, and the withholding of state block grant dollars if the city didn’t rescind the resolution. They assert it violates provisions of an anti-sanctuary city law passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature.
This assertion is being challenged by numerous independent attorneys who have looked at both that law and the ICE resolution and have found no legal conflicts. The attorneys say that a few clarity-seeking language changes can address Knudsen’s objections.
This is little more than a power play by the Governor and Attorney General to intimidate and bully our town.
Come to the public meeting. Pack the Civic Center! Let the Commissioners know that we want our city to stand firm on support for our immigrant neighbors and for due process of the law — support that was demonstrated and voted on in January.
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Mark Your Calendar
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Saturday, March 28, 11:30 – 1 p.m. — NO KINGS III Rally
Capitol, Flag Plaza, 6th and Montana.
Come at 11:30 to hear new and old protest songs, woven together with other upbeat vibes by the talented and generous DJ Anatomy. Toward the end of the program, prepare for an uplifting time with a chorus of local singers. There will be chanting, invitations to gather in strength and solidarity, and opportunities to take new action.
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The Solidarity Calendar
If you want to publicize your event whose content advances the local resistance to an authoritarian takeover, submit your listing to indivisiblehelena@gmail.com. Include the who, what, when, where, why of your event listing as completely as possible, including an email address for more information—contact email address is mandatory. We will review your listing to ensure it meets the criteria above, or we’ll ask for clarification by email before publishing it.
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Good Reads / Good Watches / Good Listens
1
George Ochenski
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq … Iran War Is Deja Vu All Over Again
Daily Montanan
March 20, 2026
Ochenski catalogs the wars the US was involved in the last 60 years, and reminds us that we were lied to “and intentionally deceived by our own government — and a complicit media that told us how we were winning the war, until it became so obvious we weren’t.” And here we are again. This time in Iran.
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2
Robert Reich
Sunday Thought: America Belongs to Us
March 22, 2026
“Above all, our resistance affirms that America does not belong to strongmen, greedy billionaires, or those who rule through fear. America belongs to us, We the People.”
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We’re Starting a Reading Group!
You’re invited to join the first Indivisible Helena reading group: Democracy Reads Books, for anyone who enjoys reading, learning, and thoughtful discussion.
Our first book is On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder (2017). This compact book — only 127 pages — looks at the rise of Nazism and, to a lesser extent, Communism, and discusses similarities with our current regime here in the US.
The author writes, “Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism and communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.” The book presents 20 concise lessons aimed at empowering citizens to defend democracy and freedom against the rise of tyranny.
The first 10 people to sign up will receive this book for free (provided by a generous Indivisible member in Washington state). So if you’re interested, please send an email to indivisiblehelena@gmail.com with “Book Club” in the subject line.
More details — including date and location — will be shared soon.
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This Week’s To-Do List
Make Good Trouble in Helena!
1. CONTINUE CALLING OUR FEDERAL DELEGATION
Senator Steve Daines: (202) 224-2651
Senator Tim Sheehy: (202) 224-2644
Representative Ryan Zinke: (202) 225-5628
Representative Troy Downing: (202) 225-3211
NO WAR!
NO “SAVE” ACT
NO ICE
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2. SIGN DISABILITY RIGHTS MONTANA’S LETTER TO AG KNUDSEN
From our friends at Disability Rights Montana: a request with major consequences for Montanans with disabilities. A petition asks the Montana attorney general to withdraw from a lawsuit that would change rules to eliminate community-based support and push people into institutions.
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3. HONK & WAVE
Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m.
11th and Montana Ave.
The Honk & Wave continues weekly.
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4. STOCK THE PUREVIEW PANTRIES
Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Drop off at PureView:
1930 9th Ave and 630 N. Last Chance Gulch
The Little Free Pantries at PureView Health Center need our help. The two pantries are always accepting non-perishable food and personal hygiene products.
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Get Your No Kings Yard Signs!
We’ve got ‘em, you want ‘em
Request by email, and we’ll get them to you. The No Kings sign campaign is here until we are sure there will be NO KINGS, EVER!
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Support Indivisible Helena
If you’d like to support Indivisible Helena in pushing back against fascism, please consider a donation via this link to the Indivisible Helena ActBlue donation portal or use the QR code below. Your information will remain private — neither IH nor ActBlue shares or sells personal data.
Together, we’ll make sure the U.S. has NO KING.
