Jason Ellsworth

In January 2021, Ellsworth was stopped for speeding on the interstate near Helena and told the trooper that he was late to a meeting with Governor Greg Gianforte. The trooper let him go without issuing a ticket.^[3]

In May 2021, Ellsworth was stopped again by a highway patrol trooper en route to Helena on suspicion of speeding, having been clocked doing 88 mph. In the encounter, Ellsworth threatened to contact the state's attorney general on the officer and claimed he couldn't be arrested because he was a lawmaker on his way to legislative work. Ellsworth was subsequently charged for speeding through a construction zone or an alternative charge of reckless driving and obstructing a peace officer.^[3]

After being selected President Pro Tempore of the Montana Senate around December 2022, Ellsworth gave a speech in which he said, “We're going to have an opportunity next session, because we're going to have a supermajority, to potentially pass constitutional initiatives, and give those votes to the people.” When asked by a journalist what type of constitutional amendments were being considered, Ellsworth said he did not know any specifics, and that the only reason he made the above statement was because he felt people "needed to be cognizant of that (the opportunity to pass amendments)..." It was later revealed that 38 constitutional amendments were being drafted at the time, according to the state legislature's own website.^[4]

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