Montana
Renowned food safety lawyer discusses E. coli outbreak in Flathead County
KALISPELL — We’re following up on the E. coli outbreak in Flathead County that has left one person dead and at least 12 others infected.
The Flathead City-County Health Department (FCCHD) and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) are investigating the outbreak with preliminary investigations showing ground beef as the potential source.
Public health officials told MTN News that the investigation is ongoing and the names of the beef distributor and restaurants where the beef was sold will not be released at this time.
Renowned food safety lawyer Bill Marler represented families sickened from ground beef linked E. coli during the historic 1993 Jack-in-the-Box outbreak, which left nearly 700 people sick and caused the death of four children.
Marler says those infected through this E. coli outbreak have a right to seek compensation.
“Both from the restaurant for under-cooking but from my perspective also from the meat supplier and the slaughterhouse that put the contaminated food into the marketplace, in 2024 after you know 30-plus years, post Jack-in-the-Box, that shouldn’t happen,” said Marler.
Marler said full transparency between public health officials investigating the ground beef E. coli outbreak and the Flathead community is key as the investigation continues.
“The only reason that we have ill people at those restaurants with E. coli O157 from hamburger is that those hamburgers were not cooked properly,” said Marler.
“If you cook it to the standards that every state you know follows, which is 155 degrees, that kills E. coli, and so it’s a little odd that they haven’t named the restaurants, it’s frankly really bothersome that they haven’t named the supplier.”
Marler and his firm Marler-Clark have represented thousands of food poisoning victims over the last three decades.
He said cases linked to ground beef E. coli outbreaks are usually under-reported in the community, as symptoms vary from person to person.
“Every one person counted, there’s usually about 5-10 other people that go uncounted,” added Marler.
Jossolyn Becker with the Flathead City-County Health Department said the ground beef linked to E. coli has been removed with no threat of further contamination in the community.
She said the last known date of consumption of the product was on July 14.
“Any of the lot that was affected by this beef distributor has been isolated and it is no longer a concern at this point,” said Becker.
In a joint response to MTN News FCCHD and DPHHS – released the following:
“The investigation is ongoing and at this point in time we are unable to provide the name of the distributor or the names of the restaurants. We are planning to release a joint statement with DPHHS tomorrow to provide the most updated information available regarding this outbreak.”
ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.
The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.
Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.
A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.
Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.
Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.
Montana
Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.
This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.
The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.
“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:
We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.
Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”
Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.
According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.
One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.
At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.
In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.
Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.
ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.
Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.
We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.
The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.
Issues: Immigration
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