On July 21st someone discharged bear spray inside Missoula’s trillion dollar library. While we, the public, are told that the police are “investigating” what happened, so far nothing has been shared about WHO discharged bear spray and WHY. Since the public PAID for this library/asylum, shouldn’t we be getting more information about the use of the library as an insane asylum?
The news article about this incident is worthless. Here’s what’s been reported thus far:
On July 21, bear spray was discharged in the Missoula Public Library, prompting an evacuation and police investigation.
Library director Slaven Lee told MTN that staff cleared the building after the spraying occurred.
Lee shared that while people were given the okay to return by the fire department, the library decided to close for the remainder of Monday in an abundance of caution.
The library safely reopened Tuesday.
Police investigating bear spray incident at Missoula Public Library
Two weeks later, nothing more has been released about why someone discharged bear spray inside the Missoula Public Library.
My daughter is a voracious reader and goes to the library all the time. As a father, I would prefer that street people arrested for assault DON’T set up appointments with their Public Defender AT the library, but that is exactly what happened last week when John Roy Simpers made his appearance in Justice Court.
I wish there was a mugshot to share because I’ve seen this little troll around town for the past year, laughing and talking to himself while using a piece of metal rebar to emphasize his internal dialogue by hitting the concrete curb around the Courthouse, laughing with each violent strike.
When John Simpers made his initial appearance in court, barely able to keep it together in front of the judge, it was the first time he had interacted directly with his Public Defender, who for some reason is based in Helena, not Missoula. She told the judge that her client would always call from the library, but when she called right back, he was never around.
I observed all this because I was ALSO in court on July 29th in front of Judge Beal, who ALSO is involved with the library. Hmmm.
I wonder what the people listed above think when parents have to retrieve their children from the scene of a potential chemical attack? Do they second guess their decision to turn the trillion dollar library into an insane asylum?
Since the Missoula Public Library gets public money, the public IS able to sift through board meetings and other documents available to download online, like I did yesterday.
What did I find?
I found money problems, a plan to bill Medicaid through hiring a social worker, and an incident report on Ron Phillips. Let’s take a look.
This screenshot is from April. For more context, here is how the conversation developed over the last few months:
To summarize what I’m seeing here, the library asked the Missoula public for millions and millions of dollars to build this cutting-edge facility ostensibly for books and other library-type activities, but instead of doing that, which I guess isn’t financially sustainable, the leadership in this brilliant town thinks it’s a good idea to transform the library into an asylum, especially one for mentally ill people charged with crimes.
At least they’re using a RAD acronym to open the library doors to judicially involved crazy people!
What does providing RAD-ical aid to our community look like? Well, sometimes it looks like this:
In case the text is too difficult to read, I’ll copy/paste some of the most relevant details from Ron Phillips’ incident report:
Lester:
First engagement I went to tell Ron that Patrons can’t lay on the floor in study rooms. Ron did not like the way I knocked on the door and after I directed him to stay off the floor, he advised me, “You do not get to tell me what to do.” I advised Ron, “I do get to tell you what to do.” I then left the study room area for about twenty minutes, walking rounds. I went back to check on Ron, and he was inappropriately laying across two chairs. I waved through the window and Ron flipped me off. I then opened the door and informed Ron, “You have to leave for abuse of staff.” Ron informed me then, “I am not leaving.” I informed Ron that MPD will be called and you will be removed.” Ron began talking about his rights and wanted to engage arguing. 911 call was placed and Ron left to speak with MPD. He eventually left property and MPD left.Ronnie:
My first interaction with Ron was the previous day 06/23/26, when I was walking along the sidewalk in front of the library and noticed Ron smoking a cigarette and leaning his head back against the building with his eyes closed. I walked up to him and asked “Sir, are you doing alright?” to which he responded “Do I not look like I’m fucking doing alright?” I responded that he had his eyes closed and I just wanted to check on him, where he stated, “I’m just fucking sitting here man, why are you harassing me and asking if I’m doing alright? I’m sitting on a public sidewalk.” I told Ron that I am the Safety Specialist here at the library and you’re leaning your back on the building, so it’s my job to check on you. He said “If I tell you I’m doing alright will you leave me the fuck alone?” I confirmed that I would, so he then said he was doing fine and I told him to have a good day and walked away.Lester and I were doing our normal rounds, when we noticed Ron was lying on his side in the study room, which laying on the floor anywhere in the library is prohibited. Lester knocked on the door before opening it and told Ron that he couldn’t lay on the floor and needed to sit in a chair. Ron said he didn’t appreciate Lester’s loud knocking, and he couldn’t be told what to do. Lester responded that he could tell him what to do, and he just needed to not lay on the floor. As Lester was responding to Ron, he started getting up from the ground, so Lester closed the door to not stand around and punitively monitor as even if Ron was upset, he was at this point complying with directions and policy. Lester and I left the floor to continue patrolling the building, at which point we returned to our desk on the first floor. Lester left to do another patrol while I was working at the computer when I received a radio call from Lester “Ronnie: third floor, now.” When I arrived to the third floor, Lester was on the phone with 911 dispatch while Ron was arguing with him, with his cellphone out appearing to be recording the interaction, telling Lester that he cannot trespass him because it’s a public building. Lester responded that he can and he is, and since he refused to leave he is calling for MPD to remove him from the library. Ron continued to argue, saying he’ll meet them outside but needed to grab his belongings. I monitored Ron from a distance as he grabbed his belongings from elsewhere on the floor as Lester was still on the phone. After Ron gathered his belongings, I placed myself next to the podium next to staff where Ron handed them the laptop he had rented for it to be checked in. Ron continued to argue with Lester about his right to the library with his phone out as he went into the elevator.
Virginia: When I got to the third floor, Ron was carrying the laptop out of the study room and heading towards the east end of the building. Ron was stating it was his right to swear in the library because it was a public place. Lester stated he could not in fact flip him off while he was finishing his call will 911. After Ron gathered his belongings, he continued to argue he could say or do whatever he wanted. Lester stated that he could not harass staff (different verbiage was used), could not swear, and that MPD was on the way. As Ron returned his laptop and made his way onto the elevator, he stated he would see them outside.
I ran down the stairs to see if he had exited the building. Ron walked out the main entrance with no issues. He proceeded to wait on the sidewalk for MPD. As I was walking another patron to the bus stop, he followed us briefly asking for a smoke, then went back around front to wait for MPD.
Crystal:
I saw Ron lying on the floor in the study room and witnessed Lester knock and inform him that he needed to get up. Ron was upset about Lester’s tone and how hard he knocked on the door. Ron was lying down across two chairs in the study room when I walked by next. Lester waved at Ron again to get his attention and tell Ron to sit upright in the chair. Ron then flipped off Lester, and Lester told him he needed to leave the library for the day. Ron said he wasn’t going to leave and Lester called 911 to remove him. When Ron was leaving the study room, he started yelling at Lester about his right to be in the library and his right to swear in the library, complaining that staff told him he couldn’t say “Fuck” in the building. He went downstairs to speak with MPD.
Ron Phillips is an interesting anecdotal example of the type of person who feels entitled to dominate public spaces, as evidenced by any one of his 195 videos on YouTube. After watching way too many of Ron’s weird videos, featuring him recording random people, and cops, in public, I’m convinced that Tim Dillon’s show on Saturday foretold the future about the new, hot commodity that people with resources will start obtaining for themselves: PRIVACY FROM INSANITY!
To wrap up today’s post about catering to the insane people making this town more and more unlivable, a well-meaning citizen recently tried doing something nice in the vicinity of what I consider to be a Missoula No-Go Zone, the California Street bridge, where a dude was recently stabbed to death.
Not surprisingly (at least to me), the gesture of trash pickup was NOT received well.
I spent about 15 minutes walking around the California Street Bridge and Lion’s Park today and filled this entire cleanup bag with trash.
I understand that a lot of people are struggling right now. Housing is expensive, the economy has been rough, and many people are in difficult situations. This post is not about judging anyone for being homeless.
What is frustrating is that there are garbage cans all over this area, yet the amount of litter is unbelievable. Bottles, cans, food containers, plastic, and other trash are scattered throughout the park and along the riverbank. There are also several camps in the wooded area with even more garbage and used needles, but I was not willing to go any closer without proper protective equipment.
I actually brought a second cleanup bag because I expected to find more than this, but I never even got the chance to start filling it. While I was cleaning up, I was confronted by someone who was extremely intoxicated and began harassing me and threatening me for “being on their property.” At that point I decided it was smarter to leave than continue picking up trash.
Before anyone says to call law enforcement, I did not see much point. Nothing seems to change when people call, and the same problems continue week after week.
This river and these parks belong to everyone. Whether you are housed, unhoused, visiting, or just out for a walk, we all share the responsibility of keeping them clean and safe. We can have compassion for people going through difficult circumstances while also expecting public spaces to be treated with respect. Those two ideas are not mutually exclusive.
For more context on Missoula’s trillion dollar library, here are some posts I’ve written since the bond enabled its construction five years ago:
“On Enduring The Missoula Democrat Mayoral Candidate Forum In The Trillion Dollar Library” (August 1st, 2023)
“My Lego Meth Lab Vs. Their Library DNA Climber” (July 12th, 2024)
“A Dose Of Hope? How About A Dose Of NOPE!” (March 17th, 2025)
“While Missoula Becomes A Hub For VIPs, The Library Continues To Be A Hub Of Embarrassment” (June 5th, 2025)
“Who Supports Urine Testing Library Board Members And MRA Board Members For Being High AF?” (September 17th, 2025)
“Has The Missoula Redevelopment Agency Ever Been This Stupid?” (September 19th, 2025)
“Is the Missoula Redevelopment Agency Pulling A PR Retreat From Public Scrutiny?” (December 3rd, 2025)
Tomorrow I’ll be writing about Missoula’s budget, both at the city and county level, and the non-homeless panhandlers begging their paymasters for more tax money, so stay tuned! And if you have any spare change, my new GoFundMe page is waiting for your donation. Any little bit helps.
Thanks for reading!