As of Tuesday, January 12, 2021, Montana reports 87,077 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 439 new cases reported in the last day: 61 in Gallatin County, 56 in Cascade County, 47 in Yellowstone County, 45 in Lewis & Clark County, 31 in Missoula County, and more new cases in 30 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 4,827. Statewide, 3,883 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 187 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Lewis & Clark Counties. 1,067 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Ten more deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 376,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 22,700,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Right-wing extremists are using channels on the encrypted communication app Telegram to call for violence against government officials on Jan. 20, the day President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, with some extremists sharing knowledge of how to make, conceal and use homemade guns and bombs. The messages are being posted in Telegram chatrooms where white supremacist content has been freely shared for months, but chatter on these channels has increased since extremists have been forced off other platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. Telegram is a Dubai-based messaging service that does little moderation of its content and has a sizable international user base, particularly in eastern Europe and the Middle East.
After Jan. 6, far-right extremists starting posting calls to arms for “round 2” on Inauguration Day in Washington. On Monday the FBI sent a memo to law enforcement agencies warning about possible armed protests at all 50 state Capitols starting Jan. 16.

Three lawmakers have now tested positive for Covid-19 after sheltering in place with lawmakers who refused to wear masks during the violent rioting at the U.S. Capitol last week. Representative Brad Schneider, D-Ill., got tested Monday on the advice of the House attending physician. He tested positive for coronavirus, but is not yet experiencing symptoms. Schneider said in a statement , “Several Republican lawmakers in the room adamantly refused to wear a mask, as demonstrated in video from Punchbowl News, even when politely asked by their colleagues. Today, I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife’s health, and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff.” Representative. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, said she had been quarantining since the attack and learned of her positive test result Monday night. Earlier Monday, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., said she had received a positive rapid Covid-19 test. News of the lawmakers’ tests came a day after the Capitol physician warned members and congressional staff that they could have been exposed to someone infected with the virus when they were sheltering in place. A video circulated last week that showed a House Democrat in a secure room offering face masks to a group of her fellow Republicans, who were seen turning them down.

Security has been increased at the Montana State Capitol following the deadly insurrection in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday and an FBI bulletin warning of armed protests at all 50 state Capitols leading up to Inauguration Day. The FBI bulletin said that through Jan. 20, the day Democrat Joe Biden will become president, armed protesters plan to “storm” government buildings. The Montana Capitol building in Helena houses the governor and secretary of state’s offices, as well as the Montana Legislature, which started its 90-day session Jan. 4. Several other buildings in the adjacent city blocks house state agencies. Other states have put beefed up security and put proactive cautionary measures in place. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Monday activated the Wisconsin National Guard to protect the state Capitol building and ordered the building’s ground-floor windows boarded up.