Leftist Montana city commission candidate leaves threatening voicemail for Sen Sheehy hoping he gets cancer, 'dies in the street like a dog'

A left-wing candidate for the Helena City Commission in Montana has come under fire for reportedly leaving a threatening voicemail for GOP Senator Tim Sheehy in July, wishing that the lawmaker get cancer and "die in the street like a dog."

The July 1 voicemail to Sheehy’s Helena district office stated, "Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana, and I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away health care for 17 million Americans. And I hope you’re really proud of that." The voicemail came after Sheehy joined fellow GOP senators in advancing the One Big Beautiful Bill.

"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. I hope that you die in the street like a dog. I…oooooohh. One day you’re gonna live to regret this," the voicemail continued. "I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope you never manage to get a boner ever again. You are the worst piece of shit I’ve ever, ever, ever had the misfortune of looking at. And you don’t serve Montanans. You serve your own private interests. All that you have done since you’ve gotten into power is do shit for yourself. God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets, because I will make you regret it. F*ck you. I hope you die."

McKnight told the Montana Free Press that she does not "regret anything that I said, only that I probably shouldn’t have used so many cuss words."

"[It’s] not very becoming of me, but yeah, I was speaking out of a justified rage for what our senator has done to erode our Constitution and erode the benefits of Montana’s people through his actions," she said. She told the outlet that she does not mean the senator any harm, that there is "no reason" for Sheehy to fear her, and that the message was not meant to be a threat.

“I’m a firebrand. I’m gonna say what I think. It might not always be polished, but it’s always gonna come from the heart. I’m running because I wanna fight for what I believe in, and I wanna fight for our people.”

McKnight claimed that the timing of the story was politically motivated and said that she has received multiple death threats since the National Review was the first to publish the story. "I think Tim Sheehy absolutely knew that this was the consequence, and he is using it in any way that he can to bully and harass me."

Jack O’Brien, a spokesperson for Sheehy, said that the senator’s office had only become aware of the voicemail recently and contacted law enforcement. The spokesperson added, "We hope Ms. McKnight gets the help she clearly needs."

McKnight previously volunteered for the Obama campaign and worked on Dem candidate Steve Held’s campaign for Congress, per Fox News. She has also donated to multiple Democrat candidates. McKnight is one of four candidates running for two seats on the nonpartisan city commission.

On McKnight’s campaign website, she states, "I am an active participant in my community and vocal advocate for change. As an organizer of Hometown Helena, I have worked hard to keep our grassroots nonpartisan forum accessible to everyone. In my work with the League of Women Voters, I have helped register voters and promoted voter registration for underserved communities. I have worked closely with the Last Chance Pow Wow to promote Native American culture in Helena. As a board member of Helena Young Professionals, I have worked hard to combat the loneliness epidemic in our community by connecting young people with their peers and local organizations. I am always ready to stand up for what I believe and challenge the status quo."

This comes after it was revealed that Virginia Democrat Attorney General Candidate Jay Jones joked about the deaths of a GOP colleague and his kids, telling a fellow lawmaker, "The only way public policy changes is when policymakers feel pain themselves, like the pain that parents feel when they watch their children die from gun violence. He asked her to provide counterexamples to disprove his claim."