Chippewa Cree Tribal Chairman Ken Blatt St. Marks is escorted to a tribal police vehicle on Wednesday morning at the tribal council chambers. Photo Havre Daily News/Lindsay Brown

Chairman Ken Blatt St. Marks of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana has been charged with trespassing after he tried to enter council chambers on Wednesday.

St. Marks was suspended by the tribal council last week for alleged dereliction of duty. He was told to stay away from council chambers but tried to go back after a tribal judge dissolved a temporary restraining order.

The tribe, however, sent police to arrest him yesterday morning as he tried to enter the building. He paid $300 in bail and was released later in the afternoon.

“How can I be trespassing when I was on tribal property, and I’m a member of the tribe and chairman of the tribe?” St. Marks told The Havre Daily News.

St. Marks believes he is being targeted because he has encouraged federal agencies to investigate corruption on the reservation. He will face a removal hearing before the council on Monday, the paper reported.

Get the Story:
St. Marks released on $300 bail (The Havre Daily News 3/21)