by William Skink

Brandon Bryant is a Veteran and a whistleblower. Google Brandon Bryant + whistleblower and you will get results like this Democracy Now segment from 2015:

It is now being claimed by City Council that Brandon Bryant represents a threat to their safety because of a video they claim Bryant posted in which he makes overt threats to “hunt down and eliminate” members of City Council. Bryant has therefore been banned from City property, including Council chambers, and was personally issued a no trespassing order by law enforcement.

Here is how the Missoula Current article frames Bryant and his “claims” of being an Air Force Veteran:

One man’s threat to “hunt down and eliminate” members of the Missoula City Council has gained the attention of local law enforcement, which for now has banned the man from city property and is working to connect him to resources.

Brandon Bryant, who claims to be an Air Force veteran, posted the video to YouTube in mid-December, where he railed against Missoula’s development community, the city’s elected officials, his past girlfriend and military commanders.

“I’ve witnessed how those same disgusting, putrid, sacks-of-shit people (are) coming and buying up my back yard and commercializing life to humans,” he begins the video. “The entire Missoula City Council has sold out Missoula to the highest bidder.”

The author of this piece, Martin Kidston, seems to be casting doubt on whether or not Brandon Bryant is an Air Force Veteran. I find this odd, considering the power of Google mentioned above produces articles from media outlets like the Rolling Stone. In this Rolling Stone piece there doesn’t seem to be any doubt as to the “claims” Brandon Bryant is making about his experiences in the military killing the enemy for Uncle Sam.

It appears to me that the intent of the Missoula Current piece is to maximize the gift of these alleged threats toward City Council to character assassinate Bryant and to cast the guilt-by-association net over the other critics of Council policies. Here is more from the Current article:

Bryant is among a handful of recent attendees who address the council at nearly every meeting, mostly with disdain over development and their inability to find meaningful work. Along the way, they’ve referred to “ivory towers of ideology” and the “dark underbelly of Missoula’s slave ship” while making other questionable statements used in their arguments.

While the rhetoric has been allowed to pass, Bryant’s threats of murder and violence crossed the line, prompting several elected officials and city employees to express concern. He has been banned from City Hall and future City Council meetings until further notice.

Over the past two months, law enforcement also has made an increased presence at City Council and its various committee meetings, with one or more officers stationed in the room.

How convenient for City Council. They get to look like the victims here, AND they get to increase the police presence for themselves while those in this community without protection–like homeless individuals living and dying in our shelters and on our streets–are left to fend for themselves.

While I don’t condone threats or acts of violence, I do understand how frustration for many is reaching a boiling point here in Missoula. This one video made by someone who let their frustration get the better of him is now going to be used to depict all critics of Council as jobless losers who pose a threat to the safety of Councilors. Just watch.

Maybe allowing members of the public a vocal part in the processes impacting their lives is just getting too risky for the ivory tower policy magicians who magically transform taxes extracted from financially squeezed community members into financial gifts to developers.

Better be on the safe side and just stop allowing the public to comment. It’s not like those comments have any impact on the decisions being made by Council members.