"Two convicted sex offenders who were arrested on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation for failing to follow federal offender-registration rules may have shown, unwittingly, the way toward eventual resolution of a worsening standoff over law enforcement on and around the reservation.

Operating under a federal law that's been in effect less than three years, U.S. Marshal's Service officers nabbed the two Thursday night after a quick investigation that began with a Tribune article published Monday.

The article, by reporter Eric Newhouse, was part of a two-day series that focused on, among other things, difficulties off-reservation police agencies have enforcing arrest warrants on the reservation.

The two offenders' presence on the reservation was mentioned in the article as an illustration of the problem, including the danger it poses for residents of the reservation.

Other suspects and offenders are known to be on the reservation, but because their crimes weren't sexual in nature they are outside the 2006 Adam Walsh Act used to make Thursday night's arrests."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Reservation warrant standoff needs solution — soon (The Great Falls Tribune 1/11)

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Montana paper examines law enforcement at Blackfeet (1/5)