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LISTEN: Unhinged voicemail exposes left-wing candidate’s death threats against GOP senator
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Freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was targeted with death threats and other extreme insults by a left-wing city commissioner candidate from Montana’s capital city of Helena, who called his office several weeks ago to leave her thoughts about the Republican senator over a voicemail.
The voicemail came in July, shortly after Sheehy voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending package from Republicans that angered many Democrats, including Helena city commissioner candidate Haley McKnight, following its passage.
«Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana,» McKnight started off in her voicemail, a recording of which was obtained and verified by Fox News Digital. «I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away healthcare for 17 million Americans, and I hope you’re really proud of that. I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer, and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it.»
But the anger didn’t stop there. During the roughly minute-long voicemail that phone logs reportedly show came in on the afternoon of July 1, McKnight launches into insults about Sheehy’s fertility and his children, before warning the senator not to «meet me on the streets.»
LAWMAKER TARGETED WITH DEATH THREAT AFTER CONDEMNING RACIST SIGN AIMED AT WINSOME SEARS
U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., (left) and Helena City Commissioner candidate Haley McKnight (right). (Photos from Haley for Helena and Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
«I hope you die in the street like a dog,» McKnight continued. «One day, you’re going to live to regret this. I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope that you manage to never get a boner ever again. You are the worst piece of sh– I have ever, ever, ever had the misfortune of looking at … God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets because I will make you regret it. F— you. I hope you die.»
McKnight added that Sheehy doesn’t «serve Montanans,» but rather just his «own private interests.»
«All that you have done since you have gotten into power is do sh– for yourself.»
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McKnight, originally from North Carolina but now living and working in Montana, owns a small business called Sage & Oats Trading Post, which McKnight describes as «a successful Native American-owned gift store» on her campaign website. She also runs a consulting and design business called Morningstar Design Ltd Co, and is the president and a board member of the Helena Young Professionals group. She touts being the recipient of the Helena Chamber’s 20 under 40 award.
«I am always ready to stand up for what I believe and challenge the status quo,» McKnight’s «About» web page on her campaign website reads, which lists priorities like housing for all, better governmental transparency, increased funding for public art and music, and more accessible streets and downtown living.
Montana State Capitol building, located in Helena, Montana. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In an interview with a local news outlet, McKnight touts her past volunteer work for the Obama campaign and more recently working on Democrat candidate Steve Held’s campaign for Congress. Held did not make it out of the primary.
Meanwhile, public campaign donation records reportedly show McKnight has donated to multiple Democratic candidates, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The Helena city commissioner race, which is traditionally nonpartisan, is her first time running for any sort of political office. McKnight was originally one of five declared nonpartisan candidates before she advanced to the November general election after finishing third in a nonpartisan primary in September.
«I’m a constituent, and I was responding to some horrible policy with some justified rage,» McKnight told Fox News Digital about the voicemail when reached for comment. «I would hope that if Sheehy was so rattled by my voicemail, he would have contacted me instead of leaking my information to conservative news media the night before an election. It feels like a cheap shot. I’m one of his constituents, and you know, this message is nothing that I’d say to my grandmother or in front of any children, it was meant for Senator Sheehy alone.»
McKnight said it was «laughable» that this is how Sheehy responds to constituent voicemails.
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«I also would have thought that somebody from the armed forces could have handled some tough language,» McKnight added. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who was shot while deployed in Afghanistan.
Tim Sheehy, founder of Bridger Aerospace, seen in the Bridger hangar in Bozeman, Montana, US, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL. (Photographer: Louise Johns/Bloomberg via Getty Images )
Meanwhile, McKnight went on to say she was simply trying to «convey the gravity of the situation» with her voicemail. She added that she was not intending to threaten Sheehy with her voicemail. McKnight also reportedly told the National Review she «obviously» had no intent of hurting Sheehy, reportedly telling the outlet: «I couldn’t, I’m a woman.»
«I wanted to drive home the struggles that people that I know are going through because of his policies. I think people were kind of shocked at my specificity, but these are things that are affecting people in my community,» McKnight told Fox News Digital, adding that Sheehy was spending too much time blocking the release of «the Epstein files» as opposed to understanding the struggles Montanans are going through.
But, when pressed on whether McKnight stood by her rhetoric from the voicemail, particularly after public officials from both sides of the aisle have called for folks to turn down the heat in light of the spate of political violence that the United States has faced recently, she simply responded: «No comment on that.»
«I have received numerous death and rape threats since this story has been published,» McKnight said when pressed even further. «My business is being threatened at the moment because of the actions of the senator,» she added, in reference to Sheehy publicly sharing her voicemail with the media.
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«It’s completely politically motivated,» McKnight concluded. «It’s a cheap shot the night before an election … the only thing left I have to say is release the Epstein files.»
Montana has no major statewide elections this year.
Tim Sheehy prepares to debate U.S. Sen. Jon Tester on campus at the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont. Sheehy eventually beat Tester in the subsequent election to take over his Montana Senate seat. (The Missoulian via AP)
In comments to the National Review, McKnight added that, «to see [Sheehy] throw away what Montanans need and want for his own betterment is enough to make me, yeah, want to fight him on site.»
«I’ll gladly say that, because I think in the time of rising fascism, we shouldn’t be afraid to say these things,» she added.
Meanwhile, when pressed by the outlet over whether she thought her voicemail went too far, McKnight reportedly said she didn’t think so, adding that she has had friends die of pancreatic cancer because of an inability to access care they required. «This is a man who’s so rich that he’s never, ever going to have to deal with that problem,» McKnight reportedly said.
In her comments to Fox News Digital, McKnight also recalled having a friend die from pancreatic cancer «because he couldn’t afford to treat it.»
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Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy speaks during a rally for Donald Trump when he was running for president, at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024 in Bozeman, Montana. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
McKnight, much like Democrat Attorney General candidate in Virginia, Jay Jones, who has been in hot water for comments about wanting to murder his political rival and his family, is an example of heightened political rhetoric that members of Congress and other public officials have expressed concern over.
«It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from one side or the other, directed at one party or another, or one person or another. It is all wrong – and it makes us all less safe,» Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said of political violence in September following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Shapiro has been joined by members from both parties calling on others to turn down the heat amid a spate of political violence the country has seen.
When reached for comment about the voicemail, Sheehy spokesman Tate Mitchell said, «We hope Ms. McKnight gets the help she clearly needs and wish her well.»
montana,controversies state and local,state and local,senate,assassinations murders
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A government shutdown, big or small, is usually a front-and-center issue for lawmakers — but the most recent partial closure could be put on the back burner as Congress returns to several issues in Washington.
Senate Democrats and the White House are still at odds over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the shutdown dragged into its tenth day. Neither side is budging, with the most recent concrete action coming early last week.
Trump, who proved pivotal in striking a funding truce with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in January, was not directly involved in recent negotiations.
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President Donald Trump has not had any «direct conversations or correspondence» with congressional Democrats recently. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press )
Trump has not had any «direct conversations or correspondence» with congressional Democrats recently, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, noting that the White House and its representatives have been handling the dialogue.
«But, of course, Democrats are the reason that the Department of Homeland Security is currently shut down,» she said. «They have chosen to act against the American people for political reasons.»
Senate Democrats offered a counter to the White House’s own counterproposal, which quickly was rejected as «unserious» by Leavitt. It’s a peculiar instance, given that this is the third shutdown during Trump’s second term, and neither side appears to be in a particular rush to end it.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus have not relented in their position as DHS enters its tenth day of being shut down. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital that there’s «some room for give and take» in the negotiations, but remained firm in the GOP’s positioning against requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from getting judicial warrants, unmasking or other reforms sought by Democrats that could increase risks for agents in the field.
«I felt like, you know, the last offer the White House put out there was a really — it was a good faith one, and it was clear to me that they’re attempting, in every way, to try and land this thing so we can get DHS funded,» Thune said.
Funding the agency will be a top priority for the upper chamber, but they’ll be delayed because of winter storms descending on the East Coast. The weather has caused the Senate to delay a vote on the original DHS spending bill until Tuesday night, ahead of Trump’s State of the Union address.
There are other issues that could get in the way of hashing out a deal, including a possible conflict with Iran and Trump’s desire to move ahead with tariffs without congressional approval.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., warned that Senate Democrats were trying to tie up Republicans from hitting the campaign trail ahead of the pivotal 2026 midterm cycle. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Trump told reporters Friday that he was «considering» a limited military strike against Iran, which already has riled up some in Congress, who are demanding that lawmakers get a say on whether the U.S. strikes.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement that he has a war powers resolution to block an attack on Iran filed and ready, and challenged his colleagues to vote against it.
«If some of my colleagues support war, then they should have the guts to vote for the war and to be held accountable by their constituents, rather than hiding under their desks,» Kaine said.
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On the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling to torpedo his sweeping duties, Trump is considering bypassing Congress to move ahead with another set of global 10% tariffs.
That comes as some Republicans are quietly celebrating the end of the duties, and others are open to working with the administration on a path forward for trade policy.
On tariffs, a Republican aide told Fox News that the GOP was «waiting to see what POTUS does next.»
«The State of the Union should be interesting,» they said.
politics,senate,government shutdown,homeland security
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Following the reported killing of major cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as El Mencho, multiple American tourists vacationing in Puerto Vallarta told Fox News Digital they unexpectedly found themselves in the middle of a violent cartel retaliation.
As airlines canceled flights and authorities issued shelter-in-place orders, stranded visitors reported cars set ablaze, suspected cartel members blocking major roads, and stores ransacked by looters — scenes some witnesses said made parts of the popular resort city feel like «a war breaking out in the streets.»
Witnesses said they were forced to evacuate their rooms, manage with limited hotel food, and even venture outside in search of meals while waiting for Mexican authorities to regain control of the city.
Staying at an Airbnb near a main road, Eugene Marchenko, 37, of Charleston, South Carolina, told Fox News Digital he woke up to blaring horns and saw six cars completely engulfed in flames just outside his balcony. He and his wife, who had arrived in Mexico only a day earlier, were forced to evacuate for several hours, fearing that a nearby fuel tanker, also ablaze, could explode.
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«I looked down and they’re completely engulfed in flames,» Marchenko said. «It was six cars in total that burned and one fuel tanker.»
He said he watched a neighbor’s video showing men he believed to be cartel members forcing people out of their vehicles, then pouring gasoline and setting the cars on fire.
«They told the people to leave,» Marchenko said. «Then they were taking the gas and pouring the gas on the vehicle and waiting until everybody was clear before they were setting it on fire.»
Later in the afternoon, Marchenko ventured out to find food and said he saw pharmacies and corner stores completely burned down, adding that younger crowds had broken into nearby buildings to loot beer and cigarettes.
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Vehicles appear to carry multiple armed forces in Puerto Vallarta. (Fox News Digital)
Videos obtained by Fox News Digital show a helicopter hovering above his building, circling as if searching for someone, while Mexican armed forces and armored vehicles moved through the streets below.
Public transportation and Ubers had come to a complete halt, Marchenko added, saying that even if flights resume, he is unsure how they would reach the airport.
Despite the chaos, Marchenko noted that no one appeared to panic.
«There’s definitely not any panic from almost nobody here,» he said. «I think it’s interesting, almost everybody was just annoyed more than anything.»
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A plume of smoke rises in Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 22, 2026. (Fox News Digital)
Adriana Belli, 49, another visitor from Miami, told Fox News Digital that she had planned to spend over a week in Mexico to attend a wedding in Guadalajara and celebrate a friend’s birthday in Mexico City.
Belli said the sudden outbreak of violence was especially shocking, noting that she had spoken with American tourists staying at her Marriott resort who insisted the area was extremely safe after visiting Puerto Vallarta for 24 years.
She added that guests who had gone to the airport were under lockdown and were managing with the limited food available.
«A lot of the other tourists who had early morning flights were actually able to get to the airport, but they are now locked down in the airport and unable to leave,» she said. «So what we heard from other guests is they are just sort of surviving off of granola bars.»
A fuel tanker was set ablaze near a gas station in Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 22, 2026. (Fox News Digital)
Another source staying at a separate resort told Fox News Digital that restaurants and room service had been shut down. Guests were brought to the lobby for what was described as «the last bit of food.»
He added that this was the first trip where he and his wife were away from their 4-year-old son, and that he had to call home to tell family members where to find their will.
«This is the first time we’ve ever been away from him. My wife was saying, ‘We’re never leaving him again,’» he said. «I had to call my mom today and, you know, just tell her, ‘Look, here’s where my will is. We just created this. I don’t want you to panic, but I may need you to stay a couple days extra with my son.’»
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He added that, despite the area appearing like a war zone, he is remaining optimistic that the authorities will restore order in the coming days.
Mexico’s Defense Department said Sunday that Oseguera was killed in a military operation. The news reportedly triggered widespread unrest and uncertainty across multiple states as Mexican authorities worked to stabilize the region.
location mexico,mexican cartel violence,world,latin america
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