Tag: wyoming

UFO Swarms Puzzle Wyoming County Officials

Mysterious swarms of UFOs have been appearing over a Wyoming county for over a year, leaving officials scratching their heads and searching for answers. According to a local media report, the curious clusters were first spotted in December of 2025 in the skies above the Jim Bridger Power Plant and the Red Desert in Sweetwater County. Although thought to be drones, the exact nature of illuminated aerial objects remains uncertain to authorities despite their best efforts to get to the bottom of the odd mystery.

“We’ve done everything we can to figure out what they are,” Jason Mower of the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s office explained, “and nobody wants to give us any answers.” Remarkably, he indicated that the once-astonishing UFOs have now become so commonplace that residents no longer even report seeing them to police. “It’s like the new normal,” Mower mused, noting that, despite being something of an unnerving presence in the sky, the objects have posed no danger to the public nor done anything to necessitate police action. Should that change, Mower stressed, “we’ll certainly act accordingly.”

It would appear that the situation in Sweetwater County is not an isolated phenomenon, as law enforcement officials in another part of the state also reported seeing similar recurring UFO swarms beginning in late 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025 until they suddenly stopped visiting. The subject even came up during a state legislature meeting wherein Wyoming National Guard leader Greg Porter was reportedly asked about “any incidents of UAPs over your airspace,” to which he replied “no.” That said, he interestingly added that he knew of cases “near some other federal facilities,” but that he could not publicly discuss them.

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The GRANITE ACT: Wyoming Bill Targets Foreign Censors With $10M Penalties

The first cannon shot in a new kind of free speech war came not from Washington or Silicon Valley, but from Cheyenne. Wyoming Representative Daniel Singh last week filed the Wyoming GRANITE Act.

The “Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny & Extortion Act,” passed, would make Wyoming the first state to let American citizens sue foreign governments that try to police what they say online.

The bill traces back to a blog post by attorney Preston Byrne, the same lawyer representing 4chan and Kiwi Farms in their battles against censorship-driven British regulators.

Byrne’s idea was simple: if the UK’s Ofcom or Brazil’s Alexandre de Moraes wanted to fine or threaten Americans over online speech, the US should hit back hard.

Exactly one month after that idea appeared on his blog, it’s now inked into Wyoming legislative paperwork.

Byrne said:

“This bill has a long way to go until it becomes a law, it’s got to make it through legislative services, then to Committee, and then get introduced on the floor for a vote, but the important thing is, the journey of this concept, the idea of a foreign censorship shield law which also creates a civil cause of action against foreign censors, into law has begun.”

That “journey” may be the kind of slow procedural trudge that usually kills most ideas in committee, but the intent here is anything but mild, and, with the growing threat of censorship demands from the UK, Brazil, Europe, and Australia, there is a lot of momentum here to fight back.

“For the first time, state legislators are moving to implement rules that will allow U.S. citizens to strike back, hard, against foreign countries that want to interfere with Americans’ civil rights online,” Byrne continued.

The Act would let American citizens and companies sue foreign governments or their agents for trying to censor them, and, crucially, it strips away the usual escape hatch of sovereign immunity.

In its legal filing responding to the 4chan and KiwiFarms lawsuit, Ofcom insisted it has “sovereign immunity” and told the court there were “substantial grounds” for throwing out the case on that basis.

The regulator’s lawyers framed Ofcom as a protected arm of the British state, immune from civil claims even when its decisions target a platform based entirely inside the United States.

Ofcom treats the idea of “sovereign immunity” as something substantial but the First Amendment as something that does not exist at all.

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Wyoming Parent Wins Free Speech Lawsuits Against Sweetwater County School Officials

It’s one thing to bake cupcakes for the school fundraiser. It’s another to find yourself explaining your Facebook posts to a judge. Yet that’s precisely where Kari Cochran, a Wyoming mother with a stubborn streak and a social media account, ended up. Twice.

For the uninitiated, Kari isn’t your run-of-the-mill parent who just grumbles in the car line. She once sat on the Sweetwater County School Board, where she learned that speaking your mind can make you the most talked-about person in the faculty lounge.

Her habit of asking uncomfortable questions about district leadership might have made her unpopular, but it also made her the kind of parent who doesn’t disappear quietly when things get messy.

Cochran’s online posts, sharp enough to make a superintendent wince, were her way of keeping the school district accountable. “Publicly accused [the] petitioner of unprofessional and unethical conduct,” one court filing complained.

In other words, she said things out loud that people in small towns usually only whisper over coffee at the diner.

Her criticism didn’t sit well with everyone. Two people connected to the district, Assistant Superintendent Nicole Bolton and Laura Libby Vinger, the wife of Superintendent Josh Libby, decided the comments had crossed into stalking. They filed civil petitions to try to stop her from speaking.

It didn’t work. Both cases were tossed out this year. Circuit Court Judge Michael Greer dismissed Bolton’s petition in August, reminding everyone that public officials are “subjected to public scrutiny.” (If you’re paid by taxpayers, you don’t get to hide from them.) A magistrate later dismissed Vinger’s case, too.

Cochran was, understandably, relieved. “Parents, students, or staff members should never feel that they should be silenced or punished for standing up for what’s right,” she said to The Center Square.

Her lawyer, Parker Jackson of the Goldwater Institute, had a less sentimental view.

If Cochran had lost, he explained, she might have been banned from attending district events or even school board meetings. “It essentially would’ve turned these school officials into roaming censors where, wherever they didn’t want Kari to be, they could show up and force her to leave,” Jackson said.

Cochran’s battle didn’t begin with Facebook posts. It began with heartbreak. Her son Joran, a graduate of Rock Springs High School, died by suicide in 2023 after being bullied.

It’s the kind of loss that rearranges your life completely. She resigned from the school board afterward, but she didn’t stop pushing for better mental health support and accountability in the district.

When she asked to see her son’s school records, the district refused. Then, as if to make her point for her, the board introduced a rule restricting what topics citizens could address during public comment. So Cochran did what most parents do when the microphone is taken away: she turned to Facebook.

Her posts gained traction. They also drew ire. The day a sheriff showed up with not one but two stalking petitions, Cochran said she felt “complete fear,” unsure what she’d done wrong.

“Complete fear” seems like an understatement for having your free speech hauled into court by the very people you’re criticizing.

The rulings didn’t erase the months of stress. Cochran said the ordeal drained her and took away time she wanted to spend with her daughter before high school began.

But her victory sends a message: criticizing your school district may make you unpopular, but it isn’t a crime.

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AI in Wyoming may soon use more electricity than state’s human residents

On Monday, Mayor Patrick Collins of Cheyenne, Wyoming, announced plans for an AI data center that would consume more electricity than all homes in the state combined, according to The Associated Press. The facility, a joint venture between energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, would start at 1.8 gigawatts and scale up to 10 gigawatts of power use.

The project’s energy demands are difficult to overstate for Wyoming, the least populous US state. The initial 1.8-gigawatt phase, consuming 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually, is more than five times the electricity used by every household in the state combined. That figure represents 91 percent of the 17.3 TWh currently consumed by all of Wyoming’s residential, commercial, and industrial sectors combined. At its full 10-gigawatt capacity, the proposed data center would consume 87.6 TWh of electricity annually—double the 43.2 TWh the entire state currently generates.

Because drawing this much power from the public grid is untenable, the project will rely on its own dedicated gas generation and renewable energy sources, according to Collins and company officials. However, this massive local demand for electricity—even if self-generated—represents a fundamental shift for a state that currently sends nearly 60 percent of its generated power to other states.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon praised the project’s potential benefits for the state’s natural gas industry in a company statement. “This is exciting news for Wyoming and for Wyoming natural gas producers,” Gordon said.

The proposed site for the new data center sits several miles south of Cheyenne near the Colorado border off US Route 85. While state and local regulators still need to approve the project, Collins expressed optimism about a quick start. “I believe their plans are to go sooner rather than later,” he said.

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VICTORY FOR VOTER INTEGRITY: Federal Judge Tosses Leftist Lawsuit — Delivers Knockout Win in Wyoming’s on Proof of Citizenship Requirement

In a crushing blow to radical left-wing lawyer Marc Elias and his progressive allies, a federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit that sought to gut Wyoming’s new election integrity law.

United States District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl ruled in favor of Secretary of State Chuck Gray and dismissed outright the lawsuit filed by the Equality State Policy Center, which had enlisted notorious Democrat operative Marc Elias in a blatant attempt to strike down House Bill 156—Wyoming’s common-sense requirement that all voter registrants provide proof of U.S. citizenship and state residency.

In his 17-page ruling, Judge Skavdahl SLAMMED the plaintiffs for lacking any standing whatsoever, exposing the entire case as a baseless political attack dressed up as a legal complaint.

“Plaintiff has not adequately demonstrated its standing to sue on its own behalf or on behalf of others in this action,” Skavdahl wrote. “The Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this lawsuit, and consequently it must be dismissed.”

The court wrote:

To establish Article III standing to sue, the law requires the plaintiff to show three requirements:
(1) it has suffered an “injury in fact” that is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; (2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant; and (3) it is likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.

Assuming Plaintiffs assertions to be true, they do not establish its standing to bring this lawsuit in its own capacity. Plaintiff has not shown a concrete injury in fact that is fairly traceable to HB 156.

Plaintiffs alleged diversion-of-resources injury is the same type of injury claimed in AllianceforHippocraticMedicine,but the U.S. Supreme Court determined this type of alleged injury was not a concrete injury in fact traceable to the challenged governmental conduct sufficient to satisfy Article III standing.

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Russia Hoaxer Marc Elias Sues Wyoming To Make It Easier For Noncitizens To Vote

Russia collusion hoaxer Marc Elias filed a lawsuit Friday challenging a new Wyoming law that makes it harder for noncitizens to register to vote.

Gov. Mark Gordon, R-Wyo., allowed House Bill 156 to become law on March 21 without his signature. The legislation requires prospective registrants to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote. Proof includes a U.S. passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers, among other options. The legislation, which passed the state House 51 to eight and the state Senate by 26 to four, is slated to go into effect on July 1, 2025.

But Elias, alongside the Equality State Policy Center and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit to overturn the will of the state, alleging the legislation violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

“When HB 156 becomes effective, it will impose new, burdensome, and entirely unnecessary requirements that will make it harder for eligible citizens to vote,” the suit claims. “The result will be the exclusion and disenfranchisement of citizens.”

The suit claims, in part, that “Women — as well as Hispanic, young, and low-income voters — are less likely to have acceptable documentation and, in many cases, face greater hurdles to obtaining it.” Women, the suit contends, “are more likely than men to be turned away when they go to register as a result of HB 156,” because of name changes resulting from marriage.

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A historic step! Wyoming requires proof of citizenship for voter registration.

Wyoming has become the first state in the United States to require proof of citizenship for residents to register to vote. This measure, which will take effect in July 2025, will apply to all elections: local, state, and federal.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon allowed the voter residency bill to become law without his signature.

While Gordon did not veto the legislation, his decision to refrain from signing it reflects his neutral stance on a law focused on verifying voter eligibility.

«I am a strong supporter of the idea that citizens should be residents of Wyoming for a considerable period of time before being allowed to participate in our elections (it took me eighteen years), » Gordon said.

Additionally, I have expressed concern over the vagueness of some terms in the law, such as the possibility of rejecting a vote for “any indication” of an issue with registration documentation. This could be difficult for county clerks to apply as there is no clear standard.

Gordon also anticipated that the law would likely lead to litigation. However, he has acknowledged that the legislation grants the Secretary of State the authority to regulate voter identification, something he had unsuccessfully attempted last year.

This legislation is another step toward improving election integrity in the state, aligning with Republican policies aimed at ensuring voters are properly established in Wyoming.

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Conservative Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman on Waste Uncovered by DOGE at Education Department: ‘Money Laundering at its Absolute Best’

Conservative Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming recently appeared on Winston Marshall’s podcast and talked about the waste, fraud and abuse that’s being uncovered by DOGE.

Using the Education Department as one example, Hageman pointed out that while the department gets billions in tax dollars, very little of that money actually goes towards educating students. Where does the rest of it go?

Hageman suggests that it goes to consultants and then gets funneled back to politicians. She comes right out and calls this a form of money-laundering.

From Real Clear Politics:

WINSTON MARSHALL: So, is the DOGE program targeted at these bureaucrats? And so, how — what can you expect?

REP. HARRIET HAGEMAN: Well, let’s look at the Department of Education. The Federal Department of Education spends — has a budget of about $280 billion a year. Less than 25% goes to educating our students.

So where does the other $220 billion go? It goes to a bureaucracy. It goes to a consultant, and that consultant then donates money back to the Democrats. And then it goes to a different consultant, and then it goes to an NGO, and then it goes to—I mean, it is money laundering and money churning at its absolute best. And you can look at almost every single agency, and you will find it.

So, the brilliance of DOGE isn’t that he’s going in and cutting spending—he doesn’t have the authority to do that. We’re the ones that have the authority to do that. What I want him to do is come up with a report, go through agency by agency by agency, identify every single program that we should not be funding, put a number attached to it.

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Jackson Newspaper Gives Community A Heads-Up During Active ICE Investigation

A local newspaper announced an immigration arrest operation while it was ongoing Friday in Jackson Hole using information from a local sheriff, prompting some to criticize both entities over safety and security concerns.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide reported Friday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were active in the area that day, trying to execute 17 warrants on specific people in Teton County.

Spanish-language instructions on how to read the story in Spanish preceded the body of the online story.

The news about ICE was “according to Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr, who spoke with the News&Guide before noon Friday,” the outlet wrote, adding that Carr said ICE was still in the community at that time, but that he did not want to assist or impede it.

Though the story leads with Carr as its primary source, the sheriff told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the Guide called him, and he merely confirmed to the outlet what others had told its reporters about the operation, which was becoming visible in the community.

Carr said he also wanted to give community members clarity about the “targeted” nature of the operation.

“I just confirmed (the information),” said Carr, adding that he didn’t seek to endanger federal agents by exposing their operation. “I fully support the mission of ICE to remove criminals out of our community.”

But he acknowledged that rumors about the operation can stir fears in Jackson.

“My goal was just to let the public know, ‘Yes, they’re here but they’re here for targeted individuals and it was not any sort of widespread roundup,” said Carr.

The sheriff confirmed that he was the person who told the Guide that ICE was executing 17 warrants, but he said he told the paper that information was “unconfirmed.”

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Girl Scout, 13, is fined $400 for selling cookies on her grandparents’ driveway for three very bizarre reasons

A Wyoming Girl Scout and her mother were hit with $400 in fines for selling cookies from a stand in her grandparents driveway.

Erica Fairbanks McCarroll and her 13-year-old daughter Emma were selling cookies after school on Erica’s parents property along Main Street in Pinedale when they were approached by a code enforcement officer on March 13.

Fairbanks McCarroll told DailyMail.com the woman, who was driving the town’s animal control vehicle and did not identify herself as code enforcement, told them they could not block the sidewalk.

The mother and daughter pulled back their stand and continued to sell cookies for two more days before the woman showed up again and handed them citations.

‘We sold for about 1 hour and 30 minutes when she showed up and handed me 3 parking tickets totaling $400,’ Fairbanks McCarroll said on Facebook.

‘I responded that I had complied with what she had asked and had moved off the sidewalk. She said the tickets aren’t just for being on the sidewalk and that this is for your daughter’s safety.’

Fairbanks McCarroll was given a $100 fine for parking on the sidewalk, a $150 fine for unlawful obstruction and another $150 fine for a municipal code that said there needs to be at least five feet of unobstructed passage on the sidewalk.

‘Sometimes I just think that government can be unreasonable. It wasn’t reasonable to be fined $400 for selling cookies in front on my grandparent’s property,’ Emma told Cowboy State Daily, who photographed the mother daughter duo.

Emma, who has been a Girl Scout since she was six years old, was aiming to sell 1,200 boxes of cookies so she could receive a $350 credit for summer camp.

Fairbanks McCarroll said, ‘She did not identify herself as Code Enforcement, she did not say what I was doing was illegal, she didn’t say she would or even could write me a ticket, she didn’t even say I couldn’t sell there anymore. All she said really was you shouldn’t block the sidewalk.’

When the code enforcement officer told her the Fairbanks probably would not like her blocking their property, Fairbanks McCarroll said: ‘I responded with ‘the Fairbanks are my parents and they don’t care.’ She then said ‘okay well I just recommend you don’t block the sidewalk’ and left.’

The town of Pinedale released a statement insisting the officer was acting under official capacity when she approached Fairbanks McCarroll and warned her several times to move before issuing the citations.

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