Supporters of silenced Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr won’t face trespassing charges

HELENA, Mont. — Montana prosecutors are declining to pursue misdemeanor trespassing charges against seven people who were arrested in the state House gallery for protesting after Republicans denied transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr the right to debate bills near the end of the 2023 legislative session.

The Lewis and Clark County Attorney’s Office filed motions in Justice Court to dismiss the charges “in the best interests of justice.” A justice of the peace signed three of the seven motions on Tuesday, court officials said. The others are pending.

Zephyr’s silencing drew scores of protesters to the state Capitol and renewed nationwide debates about manners in politics. It also took place as conservative lawmakers nationwide have introduced a flurry of anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year.

One of the defendants, Paul Kim of Missoula, said his attorney told him the county decided to drop the charges. Phone messages seeking comment Tuesday from County Attorney Kevin Downs and Deputy County Attorney Deanna Rothwell were not returned.

The plaintiffs were arrested on April 24 after a group of people disrupted the floor session for about 30 minutes when the Republican majority denied Zephyr, a Democratic representative from Missoula, the opportunity to speak on a bill that would require parental consent for children to change the names and pronouns they use at school.

Zephyr defiantly hoisted her microphone into the air as her supporters chanted “Let her speak!”

Zephyr had been silenced for telling fellow lawmakers that if they supported a bill to ban gender affirming medical care for transgender youth they would have blood on their hands. Republican lawmakers then banned Zephyr from the House floor for violating decorum during the protest, leaving her to watch the deliberations and vote on bills from a hallway outside the House chambers.