{"id":519698,"date":"2026-05-07T15:02:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T20:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=519698"},"modified":"2026-05-07T15:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T20:03:40","slug":"montana-free-press-native-lawmaker-breaks-silence-on-sexual-misconduct-and-resumes-campaign-for-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/05\/07\/montana-free-press-native-lawmaker-breaks-silence-on-sexual-misconduct-and-resumes-campaign-for-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Free Press: Native lawmaker breaks silence on sexual misconduct and resumes campaign for Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Jonathan<\/a>
Montana State Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, is seen presenting a bill on February 1, 2023. Photo: Mara Silvers \/ Montana Free Press<\/figcaption>\r\n
Windy Boy restarts campaign for Montana\u2019s eastern U.S. House seat<\/div>\r\n
After sexual abuse allegations and an April campaign suspension, Windy Boy said he had been the target of \u2018a political ambush.\u2019<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, May 7, 2026<\/div>\r\n
By Zeke Lloyd and Nora Mabie<\/div>\r\n
Montana Free Press<\/DIV>\r\n
montanafreepress.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Montana state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy has \u201cunsuspended\u201d his Democratic primary campaign for U.S. House representing Montana\u2019s Eastern Congressional District, three weeks after suspending his bid amid sexual abuse allegations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In a Wednesday afternoon text message sent to Montana Free Press reporters, Windy Boy<\/a> shared a link to his campaign website<\/a>. As of early afternoon, the website said \u201cCampaign Unsuspended for Montana\u2019s 2nd Congressional District 2026,\u201d followed by a larger headline: \u201cJonathan Windy Boy is Moving Forward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Windy Boy did not respond to additional requests for comment from MTFP about the decision to restart his campaign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In April, Montana Democratic Party Chair Shannon O\u2019Brien announced that Windy Boy had notified her \u201cthat he will be dropping out of the race for the 2nd Congressional District.\u201d The party\u2019s statement came after Windy Boy\u2019s Democratic primary competitor Brian Miller surfaced allegations<\/a> by a Pennsylvania woman that Windy Boy had sent sexually explicit photos and messages to underage girls in 2002.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In his May 6 press release<\/a>, Windy Boy called the allegations \u201ca political ambush.\u201d The statement further condemned the allegations against him, saying the matters \u201cwere previously investigated, referred to law enforcement, and that the matter was vacated over 20 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cThis is an old smear campaign that has turned into a political hit,\u201d he said in the release. \u201cThese allegations are being repackaged and pushed publicly for political purposes. I am being politically prosecuted by the Democratic Leadership due to the political attack by my Congressional opponent Brian J. Miller, who is vexatiously smearing my name. The bottom line here is I have not been afforded my constitutional rights to due process, while those rights have been grossly violated I am innocent until proven guilty.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Montana\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMontana Free Press: Native lawmaker removed from committees over sexual misconduct allegations\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

Jonathan Windy Boy, one of the longest-serving Native lawmakers, hasn’t spoken publicly about calls for him to resign from the Montana Legislature.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Montana Secretary of State\u2019s website list of 2026 candidates showed that Windy Boy\u2019s name had not been struck from the U.S. House race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Lance FourStar, who worked as a campaign consultant for Windy Boy in April, told MTFP on Wednesday that, because of the allegations, he will no longer be involved in the campaign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my baggage to carry,\u201d FourStar said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

FourStar, who is running for the state House of Representatives within Windy Boy\u2019s Senate district<\/a>, also said he does not support Windy Boy\u2019s bid for office.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cIt all comes down to what I stand for as an advocate for victims for the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples movement and the fact that I\u2019m grandfather,\u201d FourStar said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Windy Boy\u2019s announcement about rejoining the race comes two days after legislative leaders from both sides of the aisle removed him from his interim committee and commission assignments<\/a>. Interim committees and commissions meet between Montana\u2019s biennial legislative sessions to discuss issues and draft policy. Windy Boy\u2019s removal from two interim committees and one commission came at the request of Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell<\/a>, and Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade<\/a>, according to a joint press release from Republican and Democratic Senate staff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Montana\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMontana Free Press: Native lawmaker suspends Congressional campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

Jonathan Windy Boy, a Montana state lawmaker, is facing calls to resign following allegations involving minors.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

In his news release, Windy Boy encouraged the Legislature \u201cto cease and desist any and all formal actions against him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cMy enemies are making a lot of noise but just as before there have been no charges, no adjudication, this is all dirty politics, based upon rumors and slanderous allegations to influence election outcomes just weeks before voting begins,\u201d he said in the statement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In the news release, Windy Boy also criticized Miller for his efforts in 2014 to remove a judge from adjudicating a case, for which he received admonishment from the Montana Supreme Court\u2019s Commission on Practice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Miller dismissed Windy Boy\u2019s attack in a Wednesday phone interview, calling his own actions \u201can error in judgment\u201d and saying that he had learned from his mistake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cI crossed the line and I got a verbal admonishment,\u201d Miller said, noting that his license was not suspended.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Miller said he was not surprised to see Windy Boy rejoin the race and strike an unapologetic posture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cI was kind of thinking he would try something like this, to be honest,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Windy Boy rejoins Miller, a Helena attorney, and Sam Lux, a Great Falls farrier, in the race to challenge incumbent Republican Troy Downing in the general election. Libertarian Patrick McCracken and possibly independent Mike Eisenhauer are also looking to defeat Downing in November. The incumbent won the seat by a 32-point margin in 2024<\/a>, and political prognosticators give his opponents little chance of success<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In a Wednesday statement shared with reporters and posted on TikTok<\/a>, Lux said he would \u201cnot stand for this man being in our race,\u201d citing the allegations against him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u201cHe needs to end his campaign, resign from office, and take accountability for his actions,\u201d Lux wrote.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

This story was updated May 6, 2026, to include a statement from Democratic primary candidate Sam Lux. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNote: This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press<\/a>. It is published under a Creative Commons license<\/a>.<\/strong>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonathan Windy Boy is running as a Democrat to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,14],"tags":[6667,170,94,56,48,1577,7398,103,197,249,194,55,1045,7399,5578],"class_list":["post-519698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-politics","tag-6667","tag-congress","tag-democrats","tag-elections","tag-house","tag-jonathan-windy-boy","tag-lance-fourstar","tag-metoo","tag-mmiw","tag-montana","tag-montana-free-press","tag-native-vote","tag-pennsylvania","tag-shannon-obrien","tag-troy-downing","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/21\/JonathanWindyBoy.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2bce","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519698"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":519802,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519698\/revisions\/519802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}