Nora Mabee

In Montana, particularly in rural areas, Facebook is where a lot of news is shared.

But then, at the end of his post, he added this.

It's important to note that this man was not a threat, not a danger to his community, has no criminal history, and has been a great member of this community.

Which...

I just haven't seen a statement like that from law enforcement, particularly in a really, you know, conservative area that typically has a lot of support for all types of law enforcement, Border Patrol included.

This is Today Explained.

I'm Nora Mabee, and I'm a reporter for Montana Free Press.

It's Friday at 9 p.m.

and we're pulling into Freud.

So I drove into Freud on a Friday night with my colleague Lauren Miller.

A big Freud sign.

Freud is a deeply conservative rural agricultural community.

In the last election, 75% of voters there supported President Donald Trump.

Most farmers grow things like peas, lentils, canola, and wheat.

The main street of the town was empty.

I know they're playing basketball.

I wonder if everybody's at the high school.

Basketball is life in these tiny rural communities.

I think this is it.

We're here.