Senate Leadership Strips Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy from Interim Committee Assignments
The move follows new allegations of sexual abuse against the senator from Box Elder and came with renewed calls from Senate leadership for him to resign his seat
By Mariah Thomas
Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, was removed from his interim committees Monday, following mid-April reports on allegations of sexual abuse against him.
Interim committees in the state legislature meet between legislative sessions to study issues in more depth.
Windy Boy was sitting on the State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee and Senate Finance & Claims and Section E Interim Budget Committees. He also served as one of the members of the School Funding Interim Commission.
The Senate’s Committee on Committees appointed Sen. Jacinda Morigeau, D-Arlee, to sit on the State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee. Sen. Laura Smith, D-Helena, will take over Windy Boy’s role on the Senate Finance & Claims and Section E Interim Budget Committees.
And Whitefish’s Sen. Dave Fern will now sit on the School Funding Interim Commission, the body conducting a decennial study on school funding in Montana.
“We’re taking the steps within our authority to hold Senator Windy Boy accountable for his actions and protect the integrity of the Montana Senate, including stripping him of all appointed responsibilities for the remainder of the current legislative cycle,” said Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, and Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Bozeman, in a Monday press release.
“Sen. Windy Boy still needs to do the right thing and completely resign from public office.”
Windy Boy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Beacon.
In recent weeks, new allegations surfaced against the senator — who has served in the state legislature since 2003 — that he’d sent sexually explicit photos and messages to minors in 2002. The recent allegations build on a 2017 investigation, which found that a legislator identified as Windy Boy had sent harassing text messages to a female colleague.
Prior to new allegations coming to light in mid-April, Windy Boy had been running for Montana’s eastern congressional district. Windy Boy dropped his bid for the seat on April 16. Per reporting from Montana Free Press, a video posted to Facebook initially cited Windy Boy’s declining health as the reason he would be leaving the race.
The same day, Democratic Party Chair Shannon O’Brien released a statement saying she was “deeply troubled to learn about allegations of serious sexual abuse against Mr. Windy Boy” and calling for him to be investigated and held accountable. Her statement also called on him to resign his seat.