Tag: idaho

Idaho Bans Mandatory Digital ID With New Privacy Law

Idaho just became one of the few states to draw a line against mandatory digital identification. Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1299 on April 1, 2026, and the new law does something genuinely unusual in American state politics right now: it pushes back against digital ID rather than pushing it forward.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

The bill creates Section 67-2364 of the Idaho Code, prohibiting government entities from requiring “any person to obtain, maintain, present, or use digital identification.”

Approximately three-quarters of US states are currently offering or developing electronic driver’s licenses. The national momentum is clearly toward digital ID systems, with states like Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, and Utah all advancing their own versions in 2025 alone. Idaho is swimming against that current.

The bill, introduced by Senator Tammy Nichols, goes further than a simple opt-out. It prohibits public entities from denying, delaying, conditioning, or reducing “any service, benefit, license, employment, education, or access based on a person’s refusal or inability to use digital identification.”

That second clause, “or inability,” protects people who can’t use digital ID, not just those who won’t. Anyone without a smartphone, without reliable internet, without the technical literacy to navigate a digital wallet, keeps full access to government services. Physical, non-digital identification remains “valid for all governmental purposes” under the law.

The bill also addresses what happens when someone voluntarily shows a digital ID during a government interaction. A government entity cannot “require a person to surrender, unlock, or relinquish control of a personal electronic device for identity verification.” Handing your phone to a police officer or a clerk at the DMV is not the same as handing them a laminated card.

A phone contains your messages, your photos, your browsing history, and your location data. Presenting a digital ID “shall not constitute consent to search or access any other contents of a device.”

That’s a Fourth Amendment protection written directly into a state statute.

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Idaho Lawmakers Approve Resolution Asking Voters To Reject Medical Cannabis Ballot Measure

The Idaho House of Representatives has joined the Senate in approving a resolution urging voters to “reject” an effort to place an initiative to legalize medical marijuana on the state’s November ballot.

The measure, sponsored by the Senate State Affairs Committee, claims that cannabis legalization in other states has led to a host of harms, including “increased cartel activity, development of black market marijuana production, human trafficking, and increased crime rates” as well as “increased rates of serious health issues,” environmental harms and “safety concerns on job sites.”

After passing the Senate in a voice vote earlier last week, SCR 127 cleared the House on Wednesday in a 58-9 vote. It argues that the marijuana initiative would not only increase costs to the state but that its list of approved medical conditions is “so broad that almost anyone could qualify.”

“The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act lacks safeguards to such an extent that it would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana,” the resolution claims. “The legalization of marijuana would have devastating impacts on Idaho children and their families… The Legislature urges the citizens of Idaho to reject any effort to bring the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to the ballot.”

A statement of purpose filed with the legislation says it “addresses the devastating impact that legalizing marijuana has had on other states” and “identifies the significant problems” with the ballot initiative.

The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI), which is leading the effort to place the legalization measure before voters this November, has pushed back against the resolution.

“Idahoans deserve to vote on this issue, and we are confident we will be able to get it in front of them this November to do just that,” Amanda Watson, a spokesperson for the group, said in a press release last month when the resolution was filed. “There are thousands of people across Idaho with stories like Dr. Tunney’s and they deserve dignified care and the option to choose an alternative to opioids. NMAI has operating field offices in every corner of the state and we are actively recruiting more team members in Coeur d’Alene, Meridian, Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. We are not taking our foot off the gas until the final bell rings.”

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Idaho Passes Strictest Law In The US For Transgenders Using Incorrect Bathrooms

The transgender movement is widely regarded as a political insurgency rather than a civil rights movement, and for good reason.  Leftist activists often declare themselves to be “trans” as a political statement, even when they don’t actually suffer from gender dysphoria, a rare mental illness that has little to do with gay rights or “social justice”. 

Children, by extension, are easily manipulated by such activists in the form of parents and teachers, and they tend to declare they are trans in order to please the brainwashing lunatics in their lives.  

The idea that gender is an amorphous condition separate from biological sex is pure theory based on little or no scientific data.  In a non-political and truly scientific environment gender identity claims are treated as ideological, not tangible.  In other words, trans is a trend, not an inherent sexual identity group that needs to be protected from discrimination.

The purpose of the transgender movement is to further deconstruct western society and inject concepts of relativity.  It is designed to make us question concrete reality and abandon objective logic in favor of a perception-based society, a moral desert. 

Thankfully, nearly half of the states in the US are rejecting this madness and passing laws to prevent it from taking hold yet again.  It took ten years, but the idea of catering to transgenders is in swift retreat. 

Much to the chagrin of Democrats, Idaho has recently passed one of the strictest transgender bathroom laws in the U.S.  House Bill 752 requires people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, or changing rooms matching their biological sex, but that’s not all.

The new law applies to both government buildings and private businesses with facilities of public accommodation.  This means any public bathroom, locker room, changing room etc. in any business is subject to the law.  This helps to eliminate the corporate activism loophole, which has in the past allowed male-to-female transgenders to enter women’s spaces, putting women and young girls at risk.  

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Newly-Elected Idaho Mayor Dies While Giving Town Hall Speech

A newly-elected mayor in Idaho died while giving a town hall speech on Wednesday.

Idaho News reported that Nampa Mayor Rick Hogaboam, 47, experienced a medical emergency on Wednesday evening while giving a speech during a regional town hall event.

The Treasure Valley Partnership reported that Hogaboam received CPR from Eagle Mayor Brad Pike, who is a former firefighter, but despite the rescue efforts, Hogaboam was later pronounced dead.

Details on what led to Hogaboam’s sudden medical emergency are currently under investigation.

er The New York Post:

A newly elected Idaho mayor died after he collapsed mid-speech during a town hall meeting — as another elected leader tried to save his life.

Nampa Mayor Rick Hogaboam suffered a “medical emergency” while speaking around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday in Eagle, Idaho, according to Idaho News.

Eagle Mayor Brad Pike, who was sitting next to the 47-year-old politician, was the first to administer CPR.

The Treasure Valley Partnership town hall meeting was adjourned as the politician was being treated by cops, fire crews and medics who rushed to the scene.

In his last Facebook post, Hogaboam posted a picture of himself attending a fire training event at a Nampa firefighter training facility.

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FEDS NAB SUSPECT IN TERROR PLOT: Authorities Arrest Individual Accused of Attempted Arson Attack on DHS/ICE Office in Idaho After Ambulance Ramming

Federal and local authorities in Idaho have finally apprehended the radical suspect accused of attempting a domestic terror attack against a DHS/ICE facility.

The Gateway Pundit reported last week that an anti-ICE agitator stole an ambulance, packed it with gas cans, and rammed the emergency vehicle into a DHS office in Meridian, Idaho.

Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said the suspect stole the ambulance from St. Luke’s Hospital and poured accelerant inside of the vehicle.

“We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act,” Police Chief Basterrechea said.

“The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created a risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community,” he said.

The police chief said “there has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location.”

“Comments on social media, such as ‘property damage isn’t violence,’ is absolutely false,” he said.

“This was absolutely an act of violence, and if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk,” he added.

According to authorities, 43-year-old Sarah Elizabeth George of Boise was taken into custody Monday evening after Meridian Police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at her Boise residence.

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Liberals are Raging After Idaho Bar Offers Free Beer for a Month to Anyone Who Helps ICE Identify and Deport Illegal Aliens

The Old State Saloon in Eagle, Idaho, is offering a whole month of free beer to anyone who assists U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in identifying and deporting illegal immigrants from the state.

The promotion, announced on social media, encourages participants to submit evidence, such as photos, videos, and details, for verification to claim their reward.

Old State Saloon added that it “may award multiple months to one person if multiple illegals are deported.”

Additionally, illegal aliens who self-deport will be eligible for one free beer before they go.

“Any illegal who’d like to self deport may have one free beer before ICE responds to Old State Saloon to pick you up,” the bar posted on X.

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Gone with the Wind: Joe Biden’s Last Minute ‘Green’ Project Cancelled in Idaho

The Department of the Interior announced Wednesday that it is moving to terminate the Lava Ridge Wind Project in southern Idaho, reversing an approval made by the Biden-Harris administration in December 2024.

The Department of the Interior announced Wednesday that it is moving to terminate the Lava Ridge Wind Project in southern Idaho, reversing an approval made by the Biden-Harris administration in December 2024.

The agency cited legal deficiencies in the project’s authorization and pointed to widespread opposition from Idaho residents, many of whom raised concerns about the project’s proximity to a World War II memorial site.

The Lava Ridge Wind Project was slated to include up to 231 wind turbines spread across nearly 60,000 acres of land.

The Biden-Harris administration’s approval of the project came during its final weeks and was met with criticism from lawmakers, local officials, and residents concerned about its impact on the Minidoka National Historic Site.

“Under President Donald Trump’s bold leadership, the Department is putting the brakes on deficient, unreliable energy and putting the American people first,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a statement.

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Idaho firefighter sniper Wess Roley had ‘Nazi tendencies’ and filled schoolbooks with swastikas, ex-classmates say

Idaho firefighter killer Wess Roley had “Nazi tendencies” and was “obsessed with guns” as a schoolkid — often alarming fellow students by doodling swastikas and weapons in his notebooks, according to several classmates.

“My good friend saw drawings of swastikas and guns in his notebook,” said former classmate Harry Standley, who went to middle and and high school with Roley.

“We were all pretty scared of him,” Standley told USA TODAY.

Roley, 20, took his own life Sunday in the woods of Coeur d’Alene after murdering two firefighters he apparently lured there by setting a brush fire. A third firefighter was seriously wounded as Roley fired from the trees, prompting about 300 law enforcement officers to close in on the mountain in an hours-long standoff.

Former classmates say they were shocked when they saw Roley’s face in the headlines, and that they hadn’t talked to him for years.

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New Details Emerge: Kootenai County Sheriff Reveals Idaho Shooter Who Ambushed Firefighters Used a Shotgun NOT Sniper Rifle According to Preliminary Investigation

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris has revealed that a shotgun was used in the deadly shooting in Coeur d’Alene that left two firefighters dead and another injured.

During his recent press conference, a reporter asked Norris, “Sir, could you describe the weapon?”

Norris responded, “It appears right now we have a shotgun that was used.”

He added, “But we’re still processing the scene.”

The reporter responded, “Obviously, a shotgun is not a sniper weapon.”

Norris answered, “Correct.”

He added, “Let me set up the scene for everybody. When you’re in a rural area, and your heavily tree’d heavily brushed, when you’re taken fire, it adds a whole different dynamic to teh situation.”

“So what was reported, by people on scene, by police officers on scene, they believed they were taken sniper fire, yes.”

On Sunday evening, Norris held an emergency press conference and stated, “We are actively taking sniper fire as we speak.”

After making the statement, it was widely reported that the shooter, who has now been identified as Wess Roley, used a sniper rifle.

Norris has not ruled out that a rifle was used completely and shared; authorities are still searching the scene to find any other weapons, including a sniper rifle.

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Idaho SniperAccused 20-Year-Old Gunman Identified2 Firefighters Dead, 1 Critically Wounded

The man accused of sparking a forest fire and then ambushing firefighters in a calculated sniper-style attack in Idaho has been identified as 20-year-old Wess Roley, TMZ can confirm.

A law enforcement source tells TMZ Roley’s body was not taken to the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, because they don’t actually hold bodies. Instead, his remains were transferred to the Spokane, Washington Medical Examiner’s Office, which handles cases from Kootenai County just across the state border.

Since his ID, a haunting photo has surfaced — showing Roley staring straight into the camera with a chilling, almost sinister glare.

After allegedly luring the firefighters to the blaze on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d’Alene, Roley engaged in a wild gun battle with police during a massive manhunt involving nearly 300 officers. Roley’s body was later found when they tracked down his cell signal in the woods.

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