HELENA (AP) â A state senator in Montana pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer after a late-night traffic stop in May during which he threatened to call the attorney general and argued he couldnât be arrested because he was on his way to legislative business.
Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton, the Senate president pro tempore for the 2021 session, entered the plea during his initial appearance in Broadwater County Justice Court, the Montana State News Bureau reported.
Ellsworth will receive a one-year deferred sentence for the charge, meaning it will be wiped from his record if he remains law-abiding for the next year. He was also ordered to pay a $350 fine and an $85 surcharge.
BILLINGS (AP) â Federal prosecutors announced charges on Tuesday against two Montana men accused of pocketing $1 million in loans that were meant to cover payroll and other expenses through the federal government s COVID-19 relief program.
Trevor Lanius-McLeod, 48, of Laurel and Kasey Wilson, 29, of Helena pleaded not guilty in recent court appearances to bank fraud and unlawful monetary transactions, court records show.
They face a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The men received loans of $1 million through the government s Paycheck Protection Program to cover payroll and other business expenses, but prosecutors said they used the money for their personal benefit.
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