Montana Attorney General Says RCMP Made Request to Conduct Surveillance at Local Gun Shows

Montana's Attorney General Austin Knudsen in an interview with NTD on March 12, 2024, in a still from video. NTD is a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times. NTD

Montana’s Attorney General Austin Knudsen said he has received a request from the RCMP seeking to conduct surveillance at two upcoming gun shows in his state—a request that he strongly opposes.

Knudsen said the Division of Criminal Investigation in the Montana Department of Justice recently received the RCMP request regarding gun shows in Bozeman and Kalispell. Knudsen said he will try to prevent the RCMP from coming.

“My hair is absolutely on fire,” he told Bozeman’s radio station KMMS on Nov. 25. “I absolutely hit the roof and instructed my agencies we are absolutely not being any part of this.”

The Republican AG said he spoke to the local sheriffs where the gun shows will be held and said everyone involved is in agreement. Knudsen said the surveillance is “inappropriate” and “probably illegal” and that he will consider suing the U.S. federal government if necessary.

Any RCMP action in the U.S. would be coordinated with a federal law enforcement agency such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Epoch Times reached out to the RCMP and the ATF for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Knudsen mentioned an incident two years prior when an undercover RCMP officer had been reportedly conducting surveillance at a gun show in Great Falls, Montana, as part of joint work with the ATF.

Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said his outfit had not been notified the U.S. and Canadian federal agencies were conducting an operation. Slaughter said the situation could have turned into an “international incident.”

Much of Canada’s gun crime can be traced to firearms sourced from the United States. For example, 70 percent of all traced guns used in crimes in Ontario in 2021 came from the United States, according to the data from the Ontario police’s Firearms Analysis and Tracing Enforcement (FATE) program.

Montana is a northern U.S. state that shares a border with B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

The upcoming Kalispell Arms Show will be held on Dec. 7 and 8, and the Bozeman Gun Show is taking place from Dec. 13 to 15.

Montana has relatively relaxed gun laws, with no licence required to purchase long guns and handguns. Carrying a firearm, even concealed, is also not illegal, unless the individual is legally prohibited from possession.

Knudsen, a firearms aficionado, criticized the Canadian federal political leadership during his radio interview and invited Saskatchewan and Alberta residents to “move down here.”

“I feel really bad for our neighbours to the north,” he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.