Associated Press reporters in Montana have been subject to online threats after the news spread that Attorney General Tim Fox had denied AP's request for the names and other information about Montanans with concealed-weapons permits, reports the Billings Gazette. The AP has filed a report with the Helena Police Department over the online threats.
Some online commentators have published the names and addresses of AP reporters in Helena, while another ran a Google Street view photo showing the house owned by one AP newsman here. One comment in a blog said, “Associate Propaganda – they will know when they see my muzzle flash.” In March, an AP reporter requested a copy of the concealed-weapon permit holder database in Montana, information that had been public until the 2013 Legislature passed a law making it confidential.