AG: Cut Bank case not a hate crime
The Montana Attorney General's Office has reviewed a Cut Bank case and agreed with Glacier County Attorney Larry Epstein that the alleged beating was not racially motivated.
However, the Attorney General's Office raised the possibility Monday that the original misdemeanor assault charges could be refiled as felonies under a different section of state law.
The case involves three brothers — Todd, Brian and Aaron Molenda — who were charged with misdemeanors in September after brawling with four people outside of a bar. Two of the alleged victims were Glacier County Commissioner Ron Rides at the Door and his wife, Michelle, who were trying to break up the fighting.
In a letter released Monday, Chief Criminal Counsel John P. Connor Jr. wrote: "We have all concluded that the actions of the Molenda brothers, while disgusting, totally unacceptable and allegedly criminal, did not occur because of the victims' race. In our judgment, they occurred because Mr. Rides at the Door attempted to assist another victim who was being beaten by the Molenda brothers."
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