Windy Boy Drops Out of Congressional Race Amid Allegations of Sending Sexually Explicit Photos and Messages to Underage Girls in 2002

Story Credit: https://montanafreepress.org/

State Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy has dropped out of the Democratic primary for U.S. House representing Montana’s Eastern Congressional District amid allegations by a Pennsylvania woman that he sent sexually explicit photos and messages to underage girls in 2002.

The news of Windy Boy’s departure from the race came in a Thursday morning announcement by the Montana Democratic Party that referenced unspecified “allegations of serious sexual abuse against Mr. Windy Boy.”

Helena attorney Brian Miller, another Democratic primary candidate in the Eastern District, on Thursday confirmed to Montana Free Press that he has been in contact with the woman alleging misconduct for weeks and that, as of Thursday, she is his client. Brenda Russell, who in February and March posted on Facebook allegations that Windy Boy propositioned her underage daughter, confirmed in an interview Thursday that she is Miller’s client.

Russell told MTFP she met Windy Boy on a Yahoo! chat room in the early 2000s and developed a relationship with him online. 

“We talked for over a year on the internet, and he told me how he’s such a good guy and everything. He was being nice to me, and he won over my trust,” Russell said. 

Russell said that unbeknownst to her at the time, when she wasn’t at her computer, Windy Boy engaged in online conversations with her teenage daughter and niece, who sometimes used the computer to chat. It was in those chats that Windy Boy first sent sexually explicit messages and nude photos to the teens, Russell said she later found out. 

“He told me he was there, to come up and see him dance. But what he didn’t say was that when I wasn’t at the computer, that he showed himself naked to my children. He didn’t say that,” Russell said. 

Russell said she didn’t find out that Windy Boy had sent sexually explicit messages and propositioned her then-15-year-old daughter and then-15-year-old niece — whom she had brought with her to the powwow — until they met him at the powwow. Russell said she didn’t believe the girls at first, but later she listened in on a phone call in which she claims Windy Boy propositioned the teens to come to his hotel room at the Spirit Lake Lodge and Casino, where Russell was also staying with her daughter, niece and mother. 

“I told them to stay away from him, and we didn’t talk to him no more,” Russell said. “Then, when we left there, we went to Canada and the girls said, Jonathan Windy Boy’s on [the computer] again. He’s showing himself naked.’”  

Russell said she called Windy Boy and told him not to contact her or the girls again.

“I said, just stay away from the girls. Leave them alone. And we went on home, and when we got home, he continued to do it.”

In a video statement posted Thursday afternoon to the Facebook page of American Indian Caucus Director Lance FourStar, and later removed, Windy Boy said he is suspending his campaign, citing his declining health and grief over the deaths of his cousin, who he said died last month, and his daughter. MTFP reached out to Windy Boy for comment Thursday but had received no reply by publication time. 

Democratic Party Chair Shannon O’Brien Thursday released a statement saying “Jonathan Windy Boy has notified me that he will be dropping out of the race for the 2nd Congressional District” and stating that she is “deeply troubled to learn about allegations of serious sexual abuse against Mr. Windy Boy.”

“Democrat or not, Windy Boy should be investigated and held accountable, as should anyone else with allegations of this nature,” O’Brien wrote.

The statement contained no additional information or context regarding the allegations. A spokesperson for the Montana Democratic Party declined to make a representative of the party available for an interview, instead directing questions about the allegations to Miller, who the party said is representing a victim. 

Miller later told MTFP he is representing Russell, whom he described as “a person who has been trying to get taken seriously for a long, long time.” 

Miller on Thursday afternoon provided MTFP with contact information for Russell. 

Miller said he has been in contact with Russell for several weeks, but did not agree to represent her until Thursday, after the announcement of Windy Boy’s withdrawal. Miller said he informed the state Democratic Party of the allegations “about 10 days ago” and confirmed that Russell is the source of the allegation referenced in the Democrats’ Thursday press release. 

In recent months, Russell has made allegations against Windy Boy on her public Facebook page, alleging that Windy Boy “propositioned” her teenage daughter and niece, though the posts don’t indicate when or where the incident occurred. 

In one post, Russell shared a grainy photograph of a webcam image of a bare-chested man with long black braids, which she claimed is a photo sent to her by Windy Boy. She claims Windy Boy sent additional nude photos to her daughter and niece, who she said were 15 at the time. 

“He shows everything and I have the pics I can’t post on my page,” she wrote in the post.

In another post, Russell wrote: “he showed them his penis and said s**ual things he wanted to do to them. We have naked pics of him in his Montana rocky Boy [sic] home.”

“He propositioned the girls and messaged them on Facebook showing them his nakedness,” she wrote in a Feb. 12 Facebook post. “I asked him to never talk with them again but he didn’t stop.”

Russell also indicated on Facebook that she has recently sought to bring attention to her allegations.

“Everyone I’m stirring the pot I’ve contacted some people like Fox and attorney general to see if they could open the case back up,” she posted on March 4. 

In the Feb. 12 Facebook post, Russell indicated that her allegations had been investigated and that her computer had been confiscated. 

In Thursday’s interview, Russell said at first she didn’t know what to do about the 2002 incident. 

“I was embarrassed. I didn’t want my family to know about it because I figured, you know, I was at fault for putting the girls around him,” Russell said. “I didn’t want anybody to know from my family, but I wanted everybody out there [in Montana] to know. So I put it online.”

Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning, who chairs the Montana Legislature’s American Indian Caucus, told MTFP the caucus was recently “made aware of allegations of misconduct from Jonathan Windy Boy on texting minors.”

Running Wolf said he was not aware of specific details regarding the allegations, whether charges had been filed, or whether any victim had come forward. The caucus, he said, “is really, deeply concerned about these allegations involving Sen. Windy Boy.”

“This behavior described is serious, and if it is true, it’s completely unacceptable to be representing that way, as a senator and also running for [Congress],” Running Wolf said. “Him suspending his campaign, we support that, and we also support whatever decision the Senate leadership works out with Jonathan directly.”

Windy Boy is a state senator from Box Elder who has served as a representative and senator in the Montana Legislature since 2003. O’Brien’s statement called on Windy Boy to resign his Senate seat.

Sen. Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, also asked Thursday for Windy Boy’s resignation in a statement that referred to the allegations as “deeply disturbing.”

FourStar, who identified himself as a consultant on Windy Boy’s campaign, said Windy Boy had intended to drop out of the race Thursday for reasons unrelated to the allegations, including his physical and mental health. FourStar lamented the end of Windy Boy’s campaign.

“We’ve lost a candidate that could potentially have done some really, really good work, like he has for the past 24 years,” FourStar said.

FourStar said he was not aware of the allegations until Thursday, but called them “very serious.”

“If the powers that be decided that these allegations are true, of course, anybody would need to step down,” FourStar said.

Windy Boy has not been charged with any crime, and is not currently the subject of any lawsuit. 

An investigation found that in 2017 a legislator later identified as Windy Boy sent harassing text messages to a female colleague in the Legislature, according to reporting by The Associated Press in 2019. According to that reporting, legislative leaders in 2018 discussed disciplining Windy Boy, and then-Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen suggested removing him as a committee chairman. According to Knudsen, as reported by AP, Democratic legislators asked to meet with Windy Boy before any disciplinary action was taken. Windy Boy later resigned from his committee chairmanship prior to the 2019 legislative session. No legal action was instigated regarding the 2017 incident. 

In March, Miller released a campaign statement criticizing Windy Boy over the 2017 harassment allegations but did not suggest any action be taken.

Erica Shelby — founder of Just Indigenous Corporate Services, which helps Indigenous families navigate the criminal justice system when a relative goes missing or is murdered — said she was stunned when Windy Boy ran for the state Legislature after the allegations of harassment were made public in 2019.

“It was a big scandal the first time around and we were like, ‘Oh my God. This is disgusting,’” she said. “When he decided to run again, we thought, ‘What is he doing? How are his peers not holding him accountable?’ And he won.”

Shelby, who also does voter outreach on the Flathead Reservation, said the allegations represent “a major betrayal” to Indian Country. 

“We fight so hard to get Indigenous people to represent Indigenous people,” she said. “And at the end of the day, when one of those people has betrayed the trust of the Indians here in Montana, that is paramount to our trauma. That’s where a lot of our trauma comes from. If we want to address healing, we need to start taking a good, long look at ourselves and holding our leaders to account.”

Two Democrats remain in the Eastern District primary: Miller, and Sam Lux, a farrier in Great Falls. 

The seat is currently held by one-term Republican incumbent Troy Downing, who won by 30 percentage points in 2024.