Freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was targeted with death threats and other extreme insults by a left-wing city commissioner candidate from Montana’s capital city of Helena. The candidate called his office several weeks ago, leaving a voicemail expressing her thoughts about the Republican senator.
The voicemail came in July, shortly after Sheehy voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending package from Republicans that angered many Democrats—including Helena city commissioner candidate Haley McKnight—following its passage.
“Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana,” McKnight began in the voicemail, a recording of which was obtained and verified by Fox News Digital.
“I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away healthcare for 17 million Americans, and I hope you’re really proud of that. I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer, and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it.”
The anger did not stop there. During the roughly minute-long voicemail, which phone logs reportedly show came in on the afternoon of July 1, McKnight directed further insults toward Sheehy’s fertility and his children. She also warned the senator not to “meet me on the streets.”
“I hope you die in the street like a dog,” McKnight continued. “One day, you’re going to live to regret this. I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope that you manage to never get a boner ever again. You are the worst piece of sh– I have ever, ever, ever had the misfortune of looking at. God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets because I will make you regret it. F you. I hope you die.”
McKnight added that Sheehy doesn’t “serve Montanans,” but rather just his “own private interests. All that you have done since you have gotten into power is do sh– for yourself.”
### Background on Haley McKnight
Originally from North Carolina, McKnight now lives and works in Montana. She owns a small business called Sage & Oats Trading Post, which she describes as “a successful Native American-owned gift store” on her campaign website. Additionally, she runs a consulting and design business named Morningstar Design Ltd Co and serves as president and a board member of the Helena Young Professionals group.
McKnight is also a recipient of the Helena Chamber’s 20 under 40 award.
On her campaign website, McKnight states, “I am always ready to stand up for what I believe and challenge the status quo,” listing priorities such as housing for all, better governmental transparency, increased funding for public art and music, and more accessible streets and downtown living.
In an interview with a local news outlet, McKnight highlighted her past volunteer work for the Obama campaign as well as more recent involvement in Democrat candidate Steve Held’s campaign for Congress, though Held did not advance past the primary.
Public campaign donation records reviewed by Fox News Digital show that McKnight has donated to multiple Democratic candidates.
### Political Campaign
The Helena city commissioner race, traditionally nonpartisan, marks McKnight’s first time running for political office. She was originally one of five declared nonpartisan candidates before advancing to the November general election after finishing third in a nonpartisan primary in September.
### McKnight’s Response
“I’m a constituent, and I was responding to some horrible policy with some justified rage,” McKnight told Fox News Digital about the voicemail when reached for comment.
She expressed disappointment that Sheehy leaked her information to conservative news media the night before an election, calling it “a cheap shot.” She added, “I’m one of his constituents, and … this message is nothing that I’d say to my grandmother or in front of any children; it was meant for Senator Sheehy alone.”
McKnight also said it was “laughable” that this is how Sheehy responds to constituent voicemails. She added, “I also would have thought that somebody from the armed forces could have handled some tough language.”
Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who was shot while deployed in Afghanistan.
McKnight further explained she was simply trying to “convey the gravity of the situation” with the voicemail and denied any intention to threaten Sheehy.
In an interview with the National Review, McKnight said she “obviously” had no intent of hurting Sheehy, stating, “I couldn’t, I’m a woman. I wanted to drive home the struggles that people that I know are going through because of his policies.”
She acknowledged that some people were shocked by her voicemail’s specificity but maintained that these issues affect people in her community.
McKnight also criticized Sheehy for focusing too much on blocking the release of “the Epstein files” rather than understanding the struggles Montanans face.
When pressed on whether she stood by her rhetoric from the voicemail—particularly after public officials from both sides have called to deescalate political rhetoric—she declined to comment.
“I have received numerous death and rape threats since this story has been published,” McKnight said. “My business is being threatened at the moment because of the actions of the senator,” referring to Sheehy’s decision to make her voicemail public.
Calling the situation “completely politically motivated,” McKnight concluded, “It’s a cheap shot the night before an election … the only thing left I have to say is release the Epstein files.”
### Additional Comments
Montana has no major statewide elections this year.
To the National Review, McKnight added that seeing Sheehy “throw away what Montanans need and want for his own betterment is enough to make me, yeah, want to fight him on site. I’ll gladly say that, because I think in the time of rising fascism, we shouldn’t be afraid to say these things.”
When asked if she thought her voicemail went too far, McKnight said no. She shared that she has had friends die of pancreatic cancer due to lack of access to care.
“This is a man who’s so rich that he’s never, ever going to have to deal with that problem,” McKnight said.
In her comments to Fox News Digital, she also recalled a friend who died from pancreatic cancer “because he couldn’t afford to treat it.”
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The incident underscores the increasing tensions in political discourse and highlights the challenges lawmakers and constituents face in navigating passionate disagreements without resorting to threats or violence.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/unhinged-voicemail-exposes-left-wing-candidates-death-threats-against-gop-senator