Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan
July 12, 2024
A photo of Trenin Bayless from a 2018 interview compared to video stills from one of TurnCoat’s YouTube videos posted in 2023. (Photos courtesy of Fash Free NW)
LONG READ
The Montana Human Rights Network is calling on the Montana University System to fire a Montana Tech postdoctoral fellow it says is a prolific white nationalist running for the Legislature, who espouses a wide variety of views, ranging from exterminating Jews and members of the LGBTQ+ community, to learning how to suture a wound for an upcoming collapse of society.
Trenin Bayless lives in Butte, teaches at Montana Tech, and is running as a Republican for the Montana Legislature in a reliably Democratic district. He formerly worked at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, ran for the city-county commission in Butte-Silver Bow, and is accused of championing a social theory known as “accelerationism.”
Bayless said he’s seen the report produced by Fash Free NW, a blog dedicated to unmasking white nationalists, neo-Nazis and those who espouse racist views. He’s said he’s heard the concerns. He repeatedly denied that he’s the person behind the posts, and said he’s considering filing a lawsuit against the Montana Human Rights Network.
“I’m not that,” Bayless told the Daily Montanan, calling the accusation “nonsense.”
MHRN Executive Director Niki Zupanic, herself an attorney, said the group is confident that while no author name has ever been disclosed on those social media accounts, the author of the posts has dropped enough clues for investigators to identify Bayless.
“Unfortunately and maybe unsurprisingly, people who espouse white supremacist views understand that their beliefs are in conflict, especially as a member of an academic institution,” Zupanic said.
She said it’s not surprising that they hide behind a cloak of pen names and multiple identities because it could jeopardize their employment.
Bayless is also running for a seat in the Montana House of Representatives as a Republican in House District 74.
The Montana Republican Party was contacted on at least three different occasions during the past two weeks as the Daily Montanan was working on this story, including providing materials on Bayless.
It never responded to any of those requests for interview or comment.
Bayless, who is making his second attempt at politics (his first was in Silver Bow County), said he was not interested in running for political office, but wanted to help the Republicans fill out the ballot. He said he acknowledges a Republican in the traditionally Democratic stronghold of Butte is a long shot.
He said he denied all allegations, but when asked how two organizations could conclude publicly that he was behind the writings and postings, plus some photographs, Bayless said he couldn’t comment further because he may file a lawsuit in the future.
“I am not going to comment on it,” Bayless said. “When things get legal, and they might, they get weird. And sometimes lawyers get uppity about speaking to the media.”
In the same interview, he denied being a white nationalist and white supremacist, calling the allegations “childish.” When asked to explain his outlook on racism in America, neo-Nazis or other races, Bayless declined to give specific answers.
“My position is that I am not a white nationalist or white supremacist,” he said. He did characterize his political views as “right of center” without detailing any position. He said his interracial marriage should be enough to discredit any hypothesis that he’s behind the social media accounts. Furthermore, he said that he’s working with five students from Ghana, which should also help bolster the claim that he’s not the person in the post.
“What I am trying to do is help these grad students get graduated. I work with a diverse group of students. Clearly, they’re trying to impact my career, which is not good for these students. I think they got it wrong,” Bayless said.
He likened the Montana Human Rights Network to a bunch of high school bullies and said it’s a lot like trying to pin a scarlet letter to him in order to invalidate a political candidate.
Instead, he said his candidacy for the Montana House is focused on issues that Montanans care about, like housing and property taxes.
“There are major issues in the system at this time. Both Donald Trump and Biden are extremely old and should have let go a long time ago,” Bayless said. “The older generations are very afraid of their own experiences in the 1970s and 1980s and so it descends into name-calling on both sides. I am really not that interested in it.”
The Montana Human Rights Network also sent a letter on July 1 to Montana Tech, as well as the same email to the members of the Board of Regents, which has supervision over the Montana University System, of which Montana Tech is a part.
In the letter sent by the Human Rights Network, the group asks Montana Tech to terminate Bayless’ employment, making a statement reaffirming its commitment to the values of diversity, equity and academic freedom, as well as condemning “the destructive and hateful beliefs espoused by white nationalists.”
To date, the university system has taken no action on Bayless’ employment.
“Our biggest concern is that he uses his position of power over students at Montana Tech, especially graduate students, to indoctrinate them into his white nationalist beliefs,” the letter said. “Allowing an avowed white nationalist to remain in a position of influence within the academic community not only undermines the safety and well-being of students and faculty but also tarnishes the reputation of Montana Tech as a beacon of learning and integrity.”
Galen Hollenbaugh, the deputy commissioner of government relations and communications for the Montana University System, confirmed leaders at Montana Tech and the system office in Helena are looking into the allegations, but declined to outline what actions it was taking.
“The Montana University System is committed to protecting both individual rights and campus safety,” Hollenbaugh said in an email. “We carefully balance free speech protections with our responsibility to provide a nondiscriminatory education and work environment.”
The Montana Human Rights Network is calling on the Montana University System to fire a Montana Tech postdoctoral fellow it says is a prolific white nationalist running for the Legislature, who espouses a wide variety of views, ranging from exterminating Jews and members of the LGBTQ+ community, to learning how to suture a wound for an upcoming collapse of society.
Trenin Bayless lives in Butte, teaches at Montana Tech, and is running as a Republican for the Montana Legislature in a reliably Democratic district. He formerly worked at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, ran for the city-county commission in Butte-Silver Bow, and is accused of championing a social theory known as “accelerationism.”
Bayless said he’s seen the report produced by Fash Free NW, a blog dedicated to unmasking white nationalists, neo-Nazis and those who espouse racist views. He’s said he’s heard the concerns. He repeatedly denied that he’s the person behind the posts, and said he’s considering filing a lawsuit against the Montana Human Rights Network.
“I’m not that,” Bayless told the Daily Montanan, calling the accusation “nonsense.”
MHRN Executive Director Niki Zupanic, herself an attorney, said the group is confident that while no author name has ever been disclosed on those social media accounts, the author of the posts has dropped enough clues for investigators to identify Bayless.
“Unfortunately and maybe unsurprisingly, people who espouse white supremacist views understand that their beliefs are in conflict, especially as a member of an academic institution,” Zupanic said.
She said it’s not surprising that they hide behind a cloak of pen names and multiple identities because it could jeopardize their employment.
Bayless is also running for a seat in the Montana House of Representatives as a Republican in House District 74.
The Montana Republican Party was contacted on at least three different occasions during the past two weeks as the Daily Montanan was working on this story, including providing materials on Bayless.
It never responded to any of those requests for interview or comment.
Bayless, who is making his second attempt at politics (his first was in Silver Bow County), said he was not interested in running for political office, but wanted to help the Republicans fill out the ballot. He said he acknowledges a Republican in the traditionally Democratic stronghold of Butte is a long shot.
He said he denied all allegations, but when asked how two organizations could conclude publicly that he was behind the writings and postings, plus some photographs, Bayless said he couldn’t comment further because he may file a lawsuit in the future.
“I am not going to comment on it,” Bayless said. “When things get legal, and they might, they get weird. And sometimes lawyers get uppity about speaking to the media.”
In the same interview, he denied being a white nationalist and white supremacist, calling the allegations “childish.” When asked to explain his outlook on racism in America, neo-Nazis or other races, Bayless declined to give specific answers.
“My position is that I am not a white nationalist or white supremacist,” he said. He did characterize his political views as “right of center” without detailing any position. He said his interracial marriage should be enough to discredit any hypothesis that he’s behind the social media accounts. Furthermore, he said that he’s working with five students from Ghana, which should also help bolster the claim that he’s not the person in the post.
“What I am trying to do is help these grad students get graduated. I work with a diverse group of students. Clearly, they’re trying to impact my career, which is not good for these students. I think they got it wrong,” Bayless said.
He likened the Montana Human Rights Network to a bunch of high school bullies and said it’s a lot like trying to pin a scarlet letter to him in order to invalidate a political candidate.
Instead, he said his candidacy for the Montana House is focused on issues that Montanans care about, like housing and property taxes.
“There are major issues in the system at this time. Both Donald Trump and Biden are extremely old and should have let go a long time ago,” Bayless said. “The older generations are very afraid of their own experiences in the 1970s and 1980s and so it descends into name-calling on both sides. I am really not that interested in it.”
The Montana Human Rights Network also sent a letter on July 1 to Montana Tech, as well as the same email to the members of the Board of Regents, which has supervision over the Montana University System, of which Montana Tech is a part.
In the letter sent by the Human Rights Network, the group asks Montana Tech to terminate Bayless’ employment, making a statement reaffirming its commitment to the values of diversity, equity and academic freedom, as well as condemning “the destructive and hateful beliefs espoused by white nationalists.”
To date, the university system has taken no action on Bayless’ employment.
“Our biggest concern is that he uses his position of power over students at Montana Tech, especially graduate students, to indoctrinate them into his white nationalist beliefs,” the letter said. “Allowing an avowed white nationalist to remain in a position of influence within the academic community not only undermines the safety and well-being of students and faculty but also tarnishes the reputation of Montana Tech as a beacon of learning and integrity.”
Galen Hollenbaugh, the deputy commissioner of government relations and communications for the Montana University System, confirmed leaders at Montana Tech and the system office in Helena are looking into the allegations, but declined to outline what actions it was taking.
“The Montana University System is committed to protecting both individual rights and campus safety,” Hollenbaugh said in an email. “We carefully balance free speech protections with our responsibility to provide a nondiscriminatory education and work environment.”
‘TurnCoat’ and the coming collapse
The posts and the document that Fash Free NW has prepared, which runs 77 pages when printed out, as well as an abbreviated version that the Montana Human Rights Network produced, chronicles the different social media accounts they say are controlled and mask the identity of Bayless.
Those reports detail a person, often going by the social media handle of “TurnCoat,” who identifies as a person with a doctorate, living in Montana, and working toward a societal collapse.
The writings of “TurnCoat” are extensive and often articulate, being authored for online magazines and white nationalist publishing houses. “TurnCoat” appears to advocate for a theory espoused by some white nationalists as “acceleration theory.” The basic idea is that followers of it believe that the American Republic has been so corrupted by a variety of elements, including different races, religions and sexual identities, that it is beyond redemption or fixing. Instead, accelerationists believe that they should hasten the inevitable collapse of society, creating an opening for a white, Christian homeland with rewritten rules of society.
Devin Burghart is the president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. He is a prolific researcher and a national expert on extremist groups and nationalist movements. He said that while a lot of the public may not know about “accelerationism,” they may understand the concept of provoking a race war.
Along the way, the social media accounts tied to Bayless seem full of “live-action roleplaying” or LARPing, in which masked members practice warfare tactics with the heavy use of firearms, preparing for the coming collapse.
The writings attributed to Bayless also are far-reaching, with the author urging fellow white nationalists and neo-Nazis to infiltrate all levels of society in a cell-like organization not unlike the terrorist sleeper cells of the 1990s where no one group is in control, but these various groups of similarly-minded people could be activated when the time is right. The author believed to be Bayless calls for a network of “small high-trust groups.”
“There is no single point of failure and a number of national networks (whom I will not name specifically) have successfully utilized these strategies to commit to boots-on-the-ground action,” the author believed to be Bayless said.
The posts attributed to Bayless urge followers to be ready to seize upon the “coming political instability,” which will lead to positions of power and leadership.
The author of those posts calls for white nationalists to target places, like law enforcement, academia and other professions to create these loosely affiliated groups.
Fash Free NW’s lengthy investigation of Bayless documents accounts identified as his on social media platform Gab, Dissenter, Poast, Rumble and Telegram.
Prolific writing
A group of anti-fascist researchers who contributed to the report said it has been watching Bayless since his student days at the University of Montana. They’ve identified another social media account tied to “TurnCoat” under the name Dr. Kurtis MacDaud, who, among other things espouses particular virulent anti-Semitic posts, including calling on society to “remove the Jew.” The account also calls for the “political left” to be removed from society because they are “evil psychopaths.” And the same account refers to Black people as “nigs.”
The investigation into Bayless also shows the accounts are tied to the Montana chapter of White Lives Matter. “TurnCoat” also describes himself as an author of articles, short fiction and book reviews, as well as a wishing Third Reich leader Adolf Hitler a happy birthday.
Fash Free and the Montana Human Rights Network said they used Bayless’ prolific use of social media to link the accounts together, including one on Facebook, where “Kurt Barthalemu” uses the same photos, as well as photos that show Bayless and reference him by name.
Many of the writings are also targeted at the LGBTQ+ community, where the author believed to be Bayless appears to blame the “problem” of gay people on giving the women the right to vote, saying that that created men who were forced to either be gay or hyper-masculine Nazis.
In 2019, under pressure from Congress and other leaders, social media companies started to de-platform neo-Nazi and other violent rhetoric. “TurnCoat” responded: “Violence is the only solution. Dehumanize yourself and face it…Do what must be done.”
The same author also called for all “faggots” to be killed, referencing the Holocaust: “Warm up the ovens.”
On YouTube, Fash Free and Montana Human Rights Network chronicle YouTube accounts tied to Bayless, “focused on simulating real-life, post-apocalyptic survival and war scenarios.”
The groups connect Bayless to an author “Turn King,” which writes for The American Futurist, an online publication dedicated to neo-Nazi views and whose leaders have been arrested and charged for domestic terrorism. They were part of a militant terrorist organization, Atomwaffen Division. Burghart notes that some of the people affiliated with The American Futurist and the Atomwaffen Division have been convicted of murder plots and terrorist plans to blow up parts of the power grid.
“These kinds of folks are the worst of the worst we track,” Burghart said.
Some of those articles call for neo-Nazis to organize for action in local places, and others detail plans of infiltrating conservative organizations and the Republican Party to replace the traditional groups with their own members. “Turn King” also details his desire to run for local office.
In one post he describes “the quiet pushing of like-minded people into positions of power.”
“If possible, run for a seat,” Turn King said in an article in 2022. “Your entire group doesn’t need to run for an office, just one is enough to get a foot in the door.”
The author believed to be Bayless goes on to state that after a collapse of society, more local authorities will have more power because of the chaos of collapse, and that’s how the small “high-trust groups” can achieve power.
“Trenin Bayless is emblematic of a dangerous subset of the white nationalist movement that sees political violence and chaos as a solution to the problems they see,” Burghart said. “It should be taken very seriously by everyone.”
Connecting the dots
But the accounts experts associate with Bayless show more than just posting screeds and treatises on various social media platforms, they also claim that there’s action happening in Montana. The accounts speak of plans for meetings and conferences where the like-minded congregate.
The author urges people to arm themselves, train in chemistry, camping, practice shooting and radio communication.
“If you can find it, look for the Taliban Manuals and their explosives Manual (I know these exist, if you can find them let me know),” said the author believed to be Bayless. “Learn how to suture an injury. As medical costs keep going up, understanding basic medical practices will become an actual life-saving skill.”
However, one of the keys to unmasking Bayless’ online identity, according to Fash Free, was at one of those in-person meetings. Montana neo-Nazi Andrew Salacinski, who was confined to parole in Butte, spoke on social media of meeting “TurnCoat” there, where they both lived. Salacinski turned on Bayless, calling him a “race traitor” because Bayless is married to a woman of Asian descent and has a child of mixed race.
“Trenin Bayless’ wife shares an alias with TurnCoat’s Alt,” the report from Fash Free said. “In Bayless’ thesis, he thanks his wife, mentioning her by both her legal name and her alias. In a stunning coincidence, his wife was found to go by the same last name that TurnCoat did on his Dissenter profile: MacSidhe.”
Investigators started researching Bayless’ wife, Shin Sun, who goes by the alias “Sunia MacSidhe,” and appears to participate in many of Bayless’ live-action role playing, which ultimately helped tie the two together photographically, according to the extensive Fash Free NW report.
“TurnCoat” and Bayless also happen to drive the same two vehicles — a black Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and a blue Yamaha XVS V-Star 1100 motorcycle, both of which were photographed parked outside Bayless’ house.
What to do
Zupanic said that in addition to the Human Rights Network calling on leaders in higher education to address the situation, she said the purpose of publicly calling out Bayless is to educate the public about extremism in the state.
She recommends reading up on reporting about neo-Nazi, Christian nationalism and white supremacists so that residents can spot it. She told the Daily Montanan that social media coupled with a younger generation of militant groups has changed the tactics that people are used to — from white robes and hoods a century ago to live-action role-playing and manuals on military survival.
Burghart said it’s essential for voters to know who is running for public office and what they stand for. He first started researching David Duke’s campaign in Louisiana. Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan member who rose to prominence, used the veneer of politics as a way to mainstream bigoted views.
“This gives Bayless the attention he rightly deserves, and that’s essential,” Burghart said. “I’d like to see more of this reporting.”
Burghart said it’s not surprising that Bayless would deny his connection, nor is he surprised that he mentioned the threat of suing Montana Human Rights Network.
“That’s a very common thing to deny the allegations even when faced with insurmountable evidence,” Burghart said. “We’ve heard that and it’s never come to fruition.”
Burghart said that’s because many of these groups thrive on anonymity and darkness. He said the “sunlight” of public scrutiny is one of the important ways community can react.
The Bard Center for the Study of Hate, along with the Montana Human Rights Network, have published a lengthy guide on how to combat hate in local communities. That can be found here.
She said that public pressure is also effective because leaders in the community, education and politics can help denounce the actions.
“We would champion free speech, but not the right to indoctrinate or harm his students,” Zupanic said. “The state is responsible for taking steps to ensure that its employees and students are treated with care and respect.
Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com. Follow Daily Montanan on Facebook and X.
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