Persecuted missionary Jesse Boyd shared with Montana 1st News the following testimony concerning the “Affidavits of Probable Cause” and a plethora of inconsistencies that he found within them.

“AFFIDAVITS OF PROBABLE CAUSE” (INCONSTISTANCIES)

Boyd revealed,

“It appears these “affidavits” were the entire basis for our arrest and incarceration in Madison
County, Montana recently. These are public records, and were provided to only two of us in
jail- (Eric Trent & Carter Phillips were not provided with copies), and were finally released to the
public by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department in response to FOIA requests.

So, we have four affidavits of probable cause against four individuals, each charged with felony aggravated assault based upon a short and vague paragraph, subscribed and sworn to by a single officer who digitally signed each one of them. Consider a few glaring inconsistencies in these bases for charges that are supposed to be describing the exact same altercation:

1. Eric Trent, Carter Phillips, and Jesse Boyd were involved in an “incident” that involved an
   individual. Yet, Bethany Boyd (an 18-year-old girl who doesn’t weigh much more than 100
   pounds) was involved in an “assault” on an individual more than twice her size. Which was
   it? An incident involving an individual or an assault on an individual? It seems to me that
   Bethany has been found guilty of an assault by an investigating officer before a trial. This
   officer has subscribed and sworn to his statement that finds Bethany guilty of an assault.
   Doesn’t someone have to be found guilty of an assault beyond a reasonable doubt in a
   court of law before they are guilty of an assault? If this sworn affidavit is true, then an 18-
   the year-old girl chose to assault a complete stranger more than twice her size on the side of a
   rural highway in Montana with a “flag and pole.” Does that make any sense?
2. This officer subscribes to and swears that Bethany Boyd was involved in an assault at
   Milepost 35 “on” US Hwy 287 near Cameron, Montana. Yet, Carter Phillips and Jesse Boyd
   were involved in an incident near the address of a business on Cameron Dr, not US 287.
   Eric Trent was involved in an incident near this same address and yet “on” US Hwy 287.
   So, where did this happen? Near a business that is down Cameron Drive somewhere off
   the main highway, or on US Hwy 287? Are these four affidavits describing the same
   incident, or two different incidents?
3. With regard to Bethany Boyd and Carter Phillips, it says this individual suffered “multiple
   injuries” INCLUDING “cuts” to his face and hands. With regard to Eric Trent, it says this
   individual suffered “multiple injuries” INCLUDING “cuts” to his HEAD, face, and hands. So,
   were there other injuries? What were they? For Jesse Boyd, it simply says “sustained cuts
   to his head, face, and hands.” In Jesse’s “incident,” there were no other injuries suggested
   or implied. As for “cuts” to one’s hands, common sense says these result in an altercation
   when one uses his hands to punch or strike someone else, not because someone was
   punching, striking, or assaulting his hands.
4. It’s fascinating that “witnesses observed” Bethany Boyd’s “assault” from a nearby hotel,
   but there were no so-called witness observations mentioned as a basis for holding Jesse,
   Carter, or Eric. The “nearby hotel” referred to is quite a distance off US 287 from where this
   actually occurred. How did someone see and pick out Bethany “assaulting” an individual
   from this distance? Look it up on a satellite map of the area and see for yourself. Besides,
   it’s a motel, not a hotel.
5. Eric Trent supposedly admitted to striking this individual “multiple times in the head and
   shoulders” and yet no injuries to his shoulders are referenced.
6. Bethany Boyd supposedly admitted to striking this individual “multiple times with a flag and
   pole.” So, did she use two different instruments or one? How do you “strike” someone with
   a flag?

Again, these sloppy and inconsistent affidavits were the entire basis for charging us with
aggravated assault and incarcerating us, these sloppy and vague little paragraphs that do not
agree with each other and contain inexcusable grammatical errors. Noticeably and completely
absent are any references to five eyewitness testimonies that this individual made threats of
bodily harm got out of his car, made the first physical contact, threw the first punch, tackled
someone to the ground, and struck a person on the ground multiples times so that three others
had to enter the fray and act to get him off. And therein (I.e. failing to even disclose or mention
any of these claims and testimonies of self-defense and justifiable force) lies the biggest
problem.-Jesse Boyd

Boyd continued,

The officer who subscribed and swore to these affidavits violated Montana State Law.
Provision 45-3-112 states plainly:

“When an investigation is conducted by a peace officer of an incident that appears to have or
is alleged to have involved justifiable use of force, the investigation must be conducted so as to
disclose all evidence, including testimony concerning the alleged offense and that might
support the apparent or alleged justifiable use of force.”

None of that evidence or testimony was disclosed on these affidavits or to the judge despite a
10-minute 911 call in which these things were clearly articulated to an emergency dispatcher.
Moreover, there were five eyewitness testimonies (the four charged and an innocent 12-year-
old boy) that were very clear and consistent: A stranger confronted the missionary team; he got
out of his car after threatening harm; he made physical contact after being warned not to do
so, and he threw the first punch. Jesse Boyd, Eric Trent, Bethany Boyd, Carter Phillips, and
Josiah Boyd was very clear in claiming that theirs was a justifiable use of force and self-defense.

The officer who digitally signed and swore to these affidavits broke Montana law by
withholding this information so that he could get a judge to sign off on these bogus charges.
Such blatant disregard for the law should disqualify one from wearing a badge of authority.
Again, a law enforcement officer who should know the law subscribed and swore to these
affidavits in violation of the law (Montana 45-3-112), and a judge signed off on them. These are
the kind of “investigations” that take place in Third World countries and Banana Republics. The
Boyd Family knows very well, for they have lived and worked in such places for many years.
Jesse has been assaulted, attacked, interrogated, and detained in Third World countries
for preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in all such instances involving local
authorities, neither he nor his ministry partners were ever treated like this or charged with
any crime based upon such ridiculous and inconsistent “charges.” Though attacked in Nepal,
Bangladesh, India, and Mongolia, and though law enforcement became involved, he never
spent a minute in a foreign jail or a foreign court. Even Third World investigations that are
known to be corrupt and shoddy have, in his very personal experience, proven more
reasonable than what produced these ridiculous, inconsistent, and unlawful affidavits in
Madison County, Montana.”

“AFFIDAVITS OF PROBABLE CAUSE”

Be sure to check back with Montana 1st News as more breaking information is revealed concerning the persecuted missionaries.

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