JANUARY 12, 2025
Urgent Call to Action:
We Need You at the Rotunda!
TUESDAY JANUARY 20, 2026 — NOON
Join us in the Capitol Rotunda to defend our civil rights and demand a response from Montana’s Governor and federal delegation.
This Fall, Indivisible Helena organizers submitted a petition to the Governor and Montana’s federal delegation. The petition had over 6,000 signatures gathered statewide, calling on lawmakers to reaffirm our constitutional rights and to publicly condemn political violence and the use of military force against civilians. Yet, Montana’s Governor and congressional delegation remain silent, ignoring attacks on U.S. residents and on our constitution while insurance premiums skyrocket, housing costs soar, and public services are gutted.
On Tuesday, January 20, at noon, in the Capitol Rotunda, we are hosting a veterans-led press conference to address the petition, reaffirm the constitutional rights of all Americans, and draw attention to the affordability and healthcare crises spreading rapidly across the country.
Please join us to pack the room and call on our elected officials to defend our civil rights and make America affordable again as we follow the example set by John Lewis and veterans who led our civil rights movement — like Medgar Evers and Dovey Johnson Roundtree.
We encourage all attendees to bring American flags and hold them high as a symbol of the essential liberties we hold dear. Attendees are encouraged to arrive no later than 11:45AM.
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Helena Area Residents Hold Vigil
for Renee Nicole Good
On the evening of Friday, January 9, with temperatures dropping to 32 degrees and winds gusting to 20 mph, approximately 200 intrepid Helena area residents gathered in front of the federal courthouse to hold a vigil for Renee Nicole Good, who was brutally murdered at the hands of an ICE officer.
We held candles, listened to impassioned words of truth and encouragement, and learned ways to help ourselves during these times of massively heightened cognitive dissonance.
This murder wasn’t an accident; it was a policy outcome. ICE and Border Patrol agents now seem to have carte blanche to act with impunity, emboldened by rhetoric that dehumanizes immigrants and those who disagree with them.
Trump and his right-wing and Project 2025 allies are working to dismantle accountability for federal agents, creating a culture of fear and retaliation. The ICE agent who fired into Renee Good’s car acted within this system, one that rewards aggression.
The vigil was the result of nimble leadership from an alliance across several Helena organizations dedicated to protecting human rights and our Democracy. Keep an eye out for more of these, and be prepared to join in.
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Train to Know Your Rights as an Activist!
At our next membership meeting, representatives from the ACLU will present their timely training to help activists know their First Amendment Rights and how to express them during protests.
The knowledge and skills gained from this training will only become more important and valuable as we continue to protect and support our democracy and the human rights that come with it! Be sure to come on January 22, 6 p.m. at the Lewis and Clark Library in the large conference room.
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Non-Compliance Gets Results!
After a focused campaign aimed at Spotify’s policy of hosting ICE recruitment ads, the company has announced that the practice has been stopped for 2026. Their “official position” is that DHS has stopped the ad campaign, but we say, uh-huh, if you say so!
In six months, Spotify’s stock value decreased by 23.94% as the direct result of an Indivisible-led boycott.
Avelo, the airline company that transported ICE prisoners to custodial camps and out of the country, has flat-out cancelled their contracts, citing the tension and losses caused by political objections to the practice of consorting with DHS.
The US Senate has passed a bipartisan measure aimed at limiting the executive branch’s ability to invade Venezuela further, and the House of Representatives has sent a bill to the Senate to start up modified ACA subsidies.
While it may be that some of these actions falter, the fact that they exist at all is proof that non-compliance and phone calls are working. Keep it up, start again, and stay the course!
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Good Reads
GOOD READ 1
Azadeh Shahshahani and Stephanie Guilloud
The Antidote to Fear is Courage
In These Times
January 6, 2026
A leaked Justice Department memo shows the Trump administration expanding domestic terrorism enforcement to target political beliefs and social movements — including anti-fascism, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and immigration opposition — through surveillance, prosecutions, and financial pressure. These directives echo past government repression and aim to intimidate and silence broad-based movements for social justice.
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GOOD READ 2
Eric Blanc, Wes McEnany, and Claire Sandberg
Want to Stop ICE? Go After Its Corporate Collaborators
The Nation
January 9, 2026
ICE’s power depends on private companies that provide flights, data, logistics, and services, making corporate pressure a strategic way to disrupt deportation operations. By organizing consumer boycotts, worker actions, and local campaigns against these collaborators, activists can weaken ICE and raise the political cost of mass deportations.
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GOOD READ 3
Amanda Eggert
Two-Thirds of Montana’s Private Land Is in the Hands of a Few Thousand Owners
Montana Free Press
January 6, 2026
A new study finds about 4,000 landowners control roughly two-thirds of Montana’s private land, giving a small minority outsized influence over wildlife habitat, recreational access, and land use. The research highlights both conservation opportunities and risks from concentrated ownership, alongside growing parcelization, rising nonresident ownership, and increased use of LLCs that may reduce public accountability.
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Mark Your Calendar!
January 20, 12 p.m. — Capitol Rotunda
Petition Press Conference led by a Veterans
We need your presence to show how strongly we all feel about this important aspect of protecting our rights. We suggest you arrive at 11:45.
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January 22, 6 p.m.: Membership Meeting, Lewis and Clark Library
Know Your Rights Training for Activists from the ACLU
Knowing what your First Amendment rights are and how to express that when questioned will be increasingly vital. Please attend!
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January 25, 12 p.m. Lewis and Clark Library
Difficult Conversations: Adding Some Ease
With Barb Barnes, High Conflict Facilitator/Trainer. Please RSVP to: indivisiblehelena@gmail.org
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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 Sheehey: (202) 224-2644
Representative Ryan Zinke: (202) 225-5628
Representative Troy Downing: (202) 225-3211
• Push on ACA Subsidies
• Stop ICE illegal actions
• No New Wars, and Stay Out of Greenland
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2. HONK & WAVE
Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m.
11th and Montana Ave.
In true Montana fashion, the Honk & Wave continues weekly, except on days at 10℉ or below, or 0℉ with the wind chill.
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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
f 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.
