A member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana who tried to stop a fight "was going to get beaten up" regardless of his race, the state prosecutor who handled the case said.

Ron Rides at the Door, who also serves as a commissioner in Glacier County, was attacked by three brothers in September 2008. Todd, Brian and Aron Molenda yelled anti-Indian slurs at Rides at the Door and his wife but they weren't charged with hate crimes.

"Any person, regardless of his race, who came out and interfered with the brothers and threatened to call the police was going to get beaten up," special prosecutor Brant Light told The Great Falls Tribune. Light said he backed the state's decision not to charge the Molendas with hate crimes.

Aron and Brian Molenda pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and are expected to serve some jail time. Todd Molenda pleaded guilty to a felony that could carry a longer sentence.

Get the Story:
Brothers plead guilty in Cut Bank beating (The Great Falls Tribune 1/28)

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