Month: October 2023

by Travis Mateer

I haver a long road ahead of me if I want to understand how the multiple traumas in my life have impacted my ability to form healthy relationships with others, so consider this post a small step in that long process of integrating trauma so I can avoid the pattern I fell into with all the traumatized people involved in the Rebekah Barsotti case.

What kind of threats was I experiencing as my marriage was falling apart, and who was I putting energy into helping instead of my wife? Regarding the threat, does an alleged hitman seen walking outside my art studio downtown count? Since I felt compelled to hide out in an AirBNB for 5 days, I’d say that counts as a pretty threatening experience.

Helping others in crisis instead of taking care of myself is the pattern I’m trying NOT to repeat for a third time, so for me it’s important to understand how trauma bonding and co-dependency work, something I was wanting to do with my second mistake, but for some reason was discouraged from doing so. Gee, I wonder why?

One of the most challenging aspects of life is forming healthy bonds and relationships with others.  When mixed with a history of trauma, it can become even more complicated.  Often times, a person who has experienced trauma, forms an unhealthy loyalty to others which is termed as trauma bonding.  Trauma bonding means that the “victims have a certain dysfunctional attachments that occurs in the presence of danger, shame, or exploitation” (Carnes, 1997).

In these relationships, a person may experience more abuse, self-sabotage, obsession, distrust, and other negative consequences of the bond.   Another, and common, result of addiction and abusive environments, is codependency.  Codependency refers to a “type of dysfunctional helping relationship where one person supports or enables another person’s addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility, or under-achievement” (Johnson, 2014).  Often, trauma bonding and codependency are confused with each other.  Although they have similar characteristics, there are differences as well and it is important to identify the difference with clients to identify appropriate interventions for clinical consideration.

Unlike the YouTubers and other content creators outside of Montana trying to get their piece of the action, I started covering this case for the same reason I’m covering other cases: to understand what the hell is going on in Montana when it comes to the criminal justice system. Here is some of that coverage that earned me an even BIGGER target on my back as compensation.

Missing In Montana And My Cynicism On The Narrative Framing (November 17th, 2021)

What The Hell Is Going On With The Rebekah Barsotti Missing Persons Case? (December 7th, 2021)

Rebekah Barsotti Still Not Found Six Months Later (January 25th, 2022)

Who Are These “Life Guards” And How Will They Work With Town Pump To Combat Human Trafficking? (February 2nd, 2022)

Web-Sleuthing This Travis Mateer Guy To Conspiracy Smear His Journalism (February 8th, 2022)

Is There More To New Commenter “DB” Than Meets The Virtual Eye? (February 28th, 2022)

If Mineral County Sheriff, Mike Toth, Went Missing, Would Anyone Notice? (March 6th, 2022)

I Man’d Up With My Wife; David Barsotti Did NOT (March 27th, 2022)

Could A Veteran Program Be Taken Advantage Of By A Liar With An Eyepatch? (March 29th, 2022)

Helping David Barsotti Identify What A REAL Veteran Of War Looks Like (March 31st, 2022)

What Can The Jermain Charlo Missing Person Case Tell Us About The Effort To Find Rebekah Barsotti? (April 10th, 2022)

If I Was Rebekah Barsotti’s Mom… (May 4th, 2022)

My Invitation To The Department Of Justice To Return To Missoula To Investigate The Sheriff’s Department And A Call For National Coverage! (May 8th, 2022)

Is Supercharged, Tax Spending Candidate For Justice Of The Peace, Bill Burt, The Funniest Candidate Ever? (May 15th, 2022)

Some Curious Not Happenings And Know Nothings In The Rebekah Barsotti Case (May 26th, 2022)

Rebekah Barsotti May Now Be At Rest, But Questions Surrounding Her Death Remain (June 3rd, 2022)

You Want A REAL White Supremacist, Missoula? (June 15th, 2022)

Is It All Just Money, Honey, For Montana Sheriffs And Their Budget To Search And Rescue? (June 22nd, 2022)

The Caretakers, The Reporter, And The Man Who Wants To Be Sheriff Of Mineral County (June 26th, 2022)

For Abusers, Control Is A Game Death Will Not Stop…Just Ask David Barsotti, Who Wants To Salt His Ex-Wife’s Corpse Before Cremation (July 20th, 2022)

How Many Sheriffs Does It Take To Release An Autopsy? (August 2nd, 2022)

A Failure For Sheriff, A Grim Reaper As Deputy, And The Media Who Promotes Their Twisted Version Of Reality (August 5th, 2022)

Who Is Responsible For Rebekah Barsotti’s Missing Personal Items? (October 16th, 2022)

Serious Question For An Unserious County Government: Does David Barsotti Have Rabies? (January 27th, 2023)

A Sad Day For Too Many Reasons, But Here Are A Few (July 20th, 2023)

I was cleaning up my studio the other day and came across some documents that I want to get rid of, but you don’t just dump sensitive phone records in the trash, so I communicated with Rebekah’s mother about returning this information. This shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish, but since I’m under legal restrictions and unable to properly defend myself from someone deeply embedded in this case, it’s VERY difficult.

To stop the patterns that result from trauma, it’s important to understand concepts like “trauma-bonding”. Here’s another description to better understand what can happen when people don’t admit they have patterns that they repeat over and over again:

Trauma bonding is a broad term that refers to a specific pattern of relating to others. Trauma bonding is often a re-enactment of our early attachment traumas, where we repeat the same dynamics we experienced in the past. This is because there is a powerful physiological component, in which our nervous system has come to associate a degree of stress and adrenaline with affection, love, arousal and familiarity. There is also an emotional and psychological component, in which the inner child may be trying to re-live, in order to revise, old and painful ways of relating.

If we had a functioning criminal justice system in the state of Montana, maybe more people could find resolution, start healing, and move on, but we do NOT have a functioning criminal justice system in Montana, so people get stuck. Some people even get addicted to crisis and seem to seek it out, like a drug.

It’s Halloween, so the spooks are REALLY going to be out tonight, and hopefully I’ll feel a little less anxious with these documents OUT of my possession, since I never should have had them in the first place. And while there are phone numbers to some scary people in these documents, it’s the ones you let get close who you have to be the most weary of.

If you appreciate the work I’ve done examining the non-functioning of Montana’s criminal justice system, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support my work, and making a donation at my about page is another.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

This image is where Scott Osburn, a Dallas Native, wants to put a Missoula version of Lallapalooza next year. Who is this guy and why is he trying to harass this town with his festival plans? Here’s the pitch from Osburn’s appeal to City Council last week:

He showed an image to the city council members of his pitch for the concert.

“Join us for Missoula, Montana’s premier music festival, featuring world class talent, gourmet food and drinks, unique experiences and a vibrant community of outdoor enthusiasts, tourists and music lovers,” Osburn wrote on the slide. “Our strategy is focused on creating a festival that embodies the same principals (sic) as other iconic events such as Telluride Bluegrass, Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza — a legacy event.”

This idea has apparently been in the works for 5 months, with Council President, Gwen Jones, wanting city staff to get to YES (emphasis mine):

“This project started about five months ago,” she explained. “I was asked by administration — (city council president) Gwen Jones, the mayor (Jordan Hess) — to find a way to get to ‘yes.’ I took that to heart and I worked hand in hand with Scott Osburn to see if we couldn’t find an appropriate spot to do this music festival. I had a lot of concerns, so I started with this project in terms of ‘you need to convince me.’ I didn’t think we had a venue that would be appropriate for this many people and it wouldn’t impact it to the point where it would never recover.”

Ok, so Gwen Jones wants to get to YES. On that desired path to YES, did Gwen Jones do any research into Osburn’s Dallas shows? I know Gwen Jones can do online research if she feels directly threatened by disagreeable TIF activists, but skepticism in this situation would mean putting aside the money-making possibilities for just one second to deploy some healthy skepticism. I don’t think she’s capable of that, so here’s a little context that might inspire the use of the word NO.

Nine people at an electronic music festival in downtown Dallas were hospitalized over the weekend, most with symptoms of drug and alcohol use.

Thirty-eight more ill people were treated at the fifth annual Lights All Night venue, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Maybe Gwen Jones and our lame duck Mayor, Jordan Hess, assume Missoula’s appetite for monetary whoredom is an insatiable black hole (like that spot where Jones’ soul used to be), but it’s not. The continued transformation of this town–which is clearing out local storefronts as the cost of living leaves more and more regular Missoulians behind–is literally killing what made this place special in the first place. Jones and Hess want to ignore the growing public anger and keep flying full-steam ahead with their schemes. Fuck that.

Is the FUCK THAT sentiment represented in the Missoulian article? Kind of. From the link:

City council members Mirtha Becerra and Kristen Jordan both expressed serious concern over the lack of community engagement so far and the list of unanswered questions.

Becerra said it was “premature” for the committee to be even considering approving the agreement. She said she wanted to see a traffic plan presented by members of city staff rather than just something produced by Osburn. She said she had 10 questions she was going to email Osburn.

Jordan asked Osburn what kind of neighborhood outreach he had done.

He replied saying he had met with neighborhood council leaders, police department staff and fire department staff. He also noted that he’s talked with friends in the area of Playfair Park who seem to be amenable to the idea of a festival.

Jordan said, “Respectfully, anecdotal conversations with your friends doesn’t tick the box” for her as far as a requisite level of neighborhood outreach. She also noted that she’s only seen emails from constituents who are opposed to the project and none in support. She noted that a lot of people are concerned that they’re getting a “concert venue put in their backyard.”

Why does Gwen Jones want this festival? I suspect it has something to do with the fact Midtown is the current hotspot for gentrification planning, which is where the location of this festival is being proposed. It might be helpful to recall what happened when rain turned the Mumford & Sons concert at the baseball stadium into a mess that resulted in lost revenue for the baseball team and a lawsuit.

Moving on, the Festival of the Dead is apparently returning and, according to this local blurb, the reason the festival stopped was because of the pandemic, which is total horseshit.

From the horseshit link (emphasis mine):

A Missoula Festival will return this year after a hiatus due to the pandemic. Missoula’s Annual Festival of the Dead, a multicultural event inspired by Dia de los Muertos, will feature events over several days and represent multiple cultures.

The Festival has gone through some changes over its 31 years. Its current committee is a makeup of original founders, and people who have joined in the last few years. Tiffany Williams, a volunteer from the Festival, reached out with others to the committee about starting the festival again.

“There’s a unique blend of original members and new members,” Williams said, “which I think is valuable because it allows us to uphold the history of this event in Missoula while bringing in new ideas and energy.”

Um, let’s see, how about you guys “uphold the history of this event” by NOT pretending that the whole cancel-culture thing was the REAL reason this event was halted.

If you click that link, you will see that my coverage of this cancel-culture effort goes back to 2017, which was THREE WHOLE YEARS before the pandemic. Are we re-writing history now in Zoom Town? Because I’m not making this shit up, here’s the Missoulian from that same year reporting on the ZACC backing out as a fiscal sponsor due to the growing pressure from the virtue-signalers:

In the past two years, increasing numbers of community members have argued that it’s an offensive appropriation of indigenous culture and religious practices in a predominantly white city.

In the statement, the ZACC said they’d listened to many perspectives on the festival in the past few months leading up to the decision.

“We feel, as an arts community center with year-round programming, it is best for us to step down from being the umbrella of the Festival Of The Dead procession as it is, so we can concentrate on our true work, which is to provide accessible art experiences for the community,” according to the ZACC statement. “We are not equipped to be on the forefront of the cultural appropriation conversation and it is not our mission to do so, and we have great respect for the argument that we are not the correct people to spearhead the festival.”

See? I’m not making this up, but reading the weird glossing over of actual history makes me wonder about the new influence helping to RESURRECT this festival (emphasis mine):

The festival has evolved over time. “It feels like every year it becomes more expansive, more cultures are represented, and more people attend. This year we are excited to welcome Confluence Center as a hub for many of the events connected to the festival,” Williams said.

Oh, I see, the CONFLUENCE Center is being welcomed as a “hub”. Why not explain that the Confluence Center is a part of the Headwaters Foundation?

If you’d like to understand why I find this CONFLUENCE inclusion more than a little curious, here are 6 links going back to 2018 for context.:

What Is The Headwaters Foundation And Why Does It Matter? (December 18th, 2018)

On Taxes, Pilot Programs And The Untapped Millions Held By The Headwaters Foundation (July 9th, 2020)

Who Is Behind The Headwaters Foundation And Where Did They Come From? (July 10th, 2020)

While Bullock Considers Tapping The Rainy Day Fund, What Is Headwaters Doing With Our 100 Million Dollars? (November 20th, 2020)

A Closer Look At City Council Wannabe Jennifer Savage (April 23rd, 2021)

Why Isn’t Headwaters Foundation Doing More Than A Stupid Mural With Their 100 Million Dollars? (July 10th, 2023)

If you appreciate a journalist in this town capable of the radical act of REMEMBERING recent history accurately, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support my work, and the donation button at my about page is another.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

I knew the sentencing for Charles Covey was coming up because I got a phone call from the County Attorney’s Office earlier this month asking me to participate, which I declined. Why would I go along with the scam of criminal justice in this town even if it did seemingly produce something like an appropriate outcome, despite the investigators best efforts to fuck it up?

The Missoulian article reiterates the argument made by the defense during the trial at the beginning of this year, a defense that I think had some merit, though I also think Charles Covey is guilty.

Questions from Covey’s lawyers at trial took aim at what they described as a “shoddy” police investigation. His attorneys also filed a motion to dismiss midway through the trial, which was denied by the judge. Covey’s defense also filed a motion for a new trial a day before the sentencing, court filings show. The judge denied that motion too.

At Friday’s hearing, Covey adamantly contended his conviction was wrong and indicated he might appeal the case.

It’s interesting, I was just thinking about those Public Defenders recently. Maybe I should reach out, see if they want to chat about that shoddy investigator here in Missoula.

Before I get to the links for the week, a song. I hope you enjoy it, because some people are actually living it. If you want to know more, then show up at the XXXXs today at 3pm and I’ll tell you all about it!

https://vimeo.com/878985885?share=copy

Does Nick Checota Have A Reason To Be Celebrating? (October 23, 2023)

Want To Know Why Jon Tester And Montana Democrats Are In Big Trouble? (October 24th, 2023)

Too Famous To Sue, But Not Famous Enough To Interview? (October 25th, 2023)

The Extensive, Yet Incomplete, Collection Of Articles On Sean Stevenson And The Magic Chokehold + Sheriff’s Office Act That Killed Him (October 26th, 2023)

Bundle Up For The Inaugural Zoom Town Walking Tour This Sunday! (October 27th, 2023)

If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or you can make a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

*NOTE: WordPress is trying to figure out why my posts sometimes don’t go up as scheduled.

While I do have a tendency to prolifically expound on the topics I have passion for investigating, public comments at City Council in Missoula only affords me 3 minutes, at most, to make my impact. Did I make an impact in my comments to the Committee of the Whole on Wednesday? I think the look on Stacie Anderson’s face after the shot cuts back to her says it all. Hilarious!

https://vimeo.com/878344422?share=copy

I didn’t have the same visual aids when I commented at the County Commissioners on Thursday, but I think they got the point that I’m taking my unique knowledge of Missoula and making something educational AND entertaining!

What kind of things will we do on the tour? We’ll walk by the OLD Poverello Center, on Ryman Street, then we will CROSS the street to make sure I don’t offend the law offices of Reep, Bell and Jasper. Don’t worry, I’ll still be TALKING plenty about them as we walk toward City Hall.

When we stop for hot cocoa, I’ll be giving a special sneak-peek into the changes coming to a set of local businesses. Will Missoula have a place to eat brunch again after the Hob Nob, Shack, and Catalyst all closed? Come to the XXXXs on North Higgins on Sunday at 3pm and find out!

There might be some meandering so I can hit all my marks, like GROOVY Logjam venues, TIF-sniffing art galleries, and the office of the LifeGuard Group. I’m especially excited for the free speech demonstration if I can get my Gomer-phone made up in time.

One thing I will NOT be bringing along is my ukulele. That stays in my studio, though I’m sure for an extra fee I could be convinced to do some performing.

To conclude this Friday post, a song, one that I gave my mom a special warning about. Apparently one of her friends has started reading my posts, so the subject matter of this song may be a bit mortifying for mother, but isn’t laughing better than NOT laughing?

The answer to that question is YES!

https://vimeo.com/877934972?share=copy

If you enjoy my HILARIOUS posts more than my righteous anger ones, show me some love by supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or making a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading/listening!

by Travis Mateer

This collection of nearly 50 articles written over a period of 3 years is incomplete because some very basic questions remain unanswered about the events that led to the death of Sean Stevenson, the man you see pictured above with Janeane Garofalo.

I’m not going to get into why a man who died homeless in Missoula, Montana, is pictured with a celebrity. I’m sure one of the 48 links has that answer. I’m busy figuring out how to get in touch with a witness to the magic chokehold that killed Sean.

Would you believe he works security for a Montana resort that recently hosted Blake and Gwen?

Well, believe it, because celebrities are all around this strange tale, including ME (minus the bank account and actual influence) and, also, the son of God.

Anyway, here are the articles I’ve written. Please dig in. The implications could be huge. Like, Biblical.

Zoom Chron 16-The First Zoom Town Podcast Episode Reposted With A New Intro (January 4th, 2022)

Man Found Unresponsive After Fight At Poverello Center Passes Away (January 6th, 2020)

Why Is The City Of Missoula Setting Policy For The Poverello Center? (January 8th, 2020)

More Info On The Tragic Death At The Poverello Center (January 12th, 2020)

Johnny Lee Perry Spends Another Night In Jail, Still No Charges Filed For Killing Fellow Resident At The Poverello Center (January 14th, 2020)

Violent Crime Is Not The Same Thing As Criminal Case Filings (with January 29th, 2020)

If Brandon Bryant Had Killed A Homeless Person Instead Of Using Threatening Language Would He Still Be Sitting In Jail? (February 14th, 2020)

Johnny Lee Perry Back In Jail While Brandon Bryant’s Bond Remains Unchanged (February 21st, 2020)

Update On The Killing Of Sean Stevenson At Missoula’s Homeless Shelter (March 4th, 2020)

On Podcasts, Local Media, And The Value Of A Closer Look (May 24th, 2020)

Sorry, Missoula Leaders, But Virtue-Signaling Rhetoric And Symbolic Gestures Won’t Cut It (June 4th, 2020)

Pabst Hides Behind Reasonable Person Standard To Explain Not Prosecuting Budding Psychopath Josh Paniagua (July 6th, 2020)

Nine Months Later, Questions Persist Around The Violent Deaths (Murders?) Of Sean Stevenson And Ben Mousso (September 22nd, 2020)

Gwen Florio’s Virtue Signaling Resignation Does Not Make The Missoulian A Good Newspaper While She Was Editor (October 12th, 2020)

When Staying INSIDE The Homeless Shelter Gets You Killed: The STILL Untold Story Of Sean Stevenson (December 23rd, 2020)

For Montana Race-Obsessed Virtue Signalers, The Name Jefferson Davis Is More Important Than The Name Sean Stevenson (May 26th, 2021)

Why Is The Montana Human Rights Network More Interested In A Broken Window In Kalispell Than The Death Of Sean Stevenson In Missoula? (July 8th, 2021)

Is Johnny Lee Perry Rolling Through The Safe Space Of Victimology, Demographic Aversion And Scare Budgets? (August 16th, 2021)

Johnny Lee Perry, The Homeless Man Allegedly Responsible For The Death Of Sean Stevenson In 2020, ID’d As Shooting Victim Of Missoula County Sheriff’s Department (September 3rd, 2021)

Missoula’s New Crisis Intervention Team Looks To Data, Not Corpses (October 7th, 2021)

Missing In Montana And My Cynicism On The Narrative Framing (November 17th, 2021)

What Is Joshua Paniagua Being Sentenced For? Because He Was Never Charged With Murder, Thanks To County Attorney Kirsten Pabst (December 10th, 2021)

Coroner’s Inquest For Johnny Lee Perry Is Happening This Thursday, What Will We Find Out? (April 27th, 2022)

On The Terrible Article From North Star About The Mysterious Conditions Surrounding The Death Of Johnny Lee Perry (April 28th, 2022)

If I Wanted To Kill Johnny Lee Perry, Here Is How I Would Set Up His State-Sanctioned Execution (April 29th, 2022)

What Can The Missoula Current Ignore This Week? Because Last Week It Was The Coroner’s Inquest Of A Young Black Man Shot Twice In The Back By A Sheriff Deputy (May 2nd, 2022)

What Does My Purchase Of A Black Lives Matter Pin Benefitting The Montana Racial Equity Project Actually Do For Black People In Montana? (May 9th, 2020)

A Meth Arrest That Is Totally Not Retaliation For A Black Man’s Death That Was Totally Not A State-Sanctioned Execution (June 8th, 2022)

After Making The Phone Call That Got Johnny Lee Perry Shot By A Sheriff Deputy, Jackie Maxvill Is In Trouble Again (October 31st, 2022)

Is Breaking “Confidential Criminal Justice Information” (CCJI) A Necessary Part Of Breaking Their Narrative Control? (January 4th, 2023)

Why Are We Getting Point Of Ordered For Making Public Comment? (February 7th, 2023)

A White Man’s Guide To Profiting Off Racism In Missoula And Beyond (While Synchronicities Tell A Different Story) (February 8th, 2023)

Watching Southland Tales On Easter Eve Almost Broke My Mind (April 9th, 2023)

Breaking Narrative Control With Journalist David Fahrenthold In A Room Full Of People Who Know Nothing About Sean Stevenson (April 13th, 2023)

National Attention Descends On Montana, But The Synchronicities Are Telling Me A Different Story (April 28th, 2023)

You Want To Talk About Bloody Hands And Marginalized Populations, Poverello Center? (April 28th, 2023)

This Is How I Juneteenth (June 19th, 2023)

If I’m Not A Part Of Your Homeless Plan Then Your Homeless Plan Is To Control, Not Solve (July 19th, 2023)

Why I Went To Empower Field After United Way In Denver (August 23rd, 2023)

Why Did Sean Stevenson Come To Montana? (September 8th, 2023)

Montana’s Criminal Justice System Is An Embarrassment From Top To Bottom, Like How Evidence Is Handled (September 13th, 2023)

Creating Unsafe Situations For Those Who Lack Appropriate Housing (September 14th, 2023)

Why Was Detective Bob Franke In Sean Stevenson’s Hospital Room Watching Him Die? (September 21st, 2023)

This Is The City Where Sean Stevenson Was Born (September 25th, 2023)

Cyril Wecht, The Famous Pathologist Who Criticized The Warren Commission, Answered My Call Yesterday (September 26ht, 2023)

Some Important Information On How To Avoid Uppity Removal By COPs (October 5th, 2023)

60 Days, 7,130 Miles, 133,680 Words Later… (October 11th, 2023)

Is An Elephant That Died 80 Years Ago More News Worthy Than A Black Man Euthanized By The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office 3 Years Ago? (October 19th, 2023)

If you appreciate the scope of this work, help it continue by supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or you can make a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!