Former State ALEC Chair, GOP Leader Jailed

The former House Republican Minority Whip of the Montana Legislature and Montana state chair of ALEC, Dennis Himmelberger, is in jail.

The Billings Gazette reported today that Himmelberger was sentenced to jail for contempt of court after he refused to refund the rental security deposit of a 93-year-old tenant.  

The elderly woman's family took the case to small claims court. After it was revealed that his lease contained an illegal provision,  Himmelberger had at first agreed to pay the woman $2,200 in a settlement.  However, he later refused to pay.  When Himmelberger showed up in court without the payment and any of the financial records the court required him to produce...well, he was sentenced to jail for contempt.

Himmelberger is the former Montana state chair of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council.  Readers here know ALEC well. It's the out-of-state corporate-funded organization that brings global corporations and state politicians together behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws.  ALEC was found to be behind several of the worst bills brought forward by Montana Republicans in the last legislative session.  Himmelberger is pictured here at the Montana Cowgirl blog where this diary is cross-posted.