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A Wyoming city councilman is facing backlash after making comments suggesting the state should “suspend bad judges” in response to the court’s decision on abortion, later insisting the comment was “harmless.”
State Rep. Mike Yin, a Democrat, shared a post from Wyoming Public Radio & Media on Facebook about a Natrona County judge temporarily blocking the state’s abortion ban for six weeks, allowing abortions to resume while the law faces ongoing legal challenges.
“The Legislature should listen to the Constitution and the freedom to make our own health care decisions. Instead we continue to make it harder to keep doctors in Wyoming and children in this state,” Yin wrote in the post. “The only way it changes is at the ballot box.”
Troy Bray, a city councilman in Powell, Wyoming, commented on this article about a judge blocking the state’s so-called “heartbeat” abortion law.
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“For Wyoming to get justice we have to hang bad judges,” Bray wrote.
The comment quickly drew criticism from other users, some of whom described the speech as dangerous and inappropriate given the role of elected officials.
Bray later addressed the backlash in a lengthy Facebook post, saying his comments were “a statement of my beliefs, NOT a threat,” and were not intended as a call to action.
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Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed the baby’s heart rate limit in March, but acknowledged the possibility of legal challenges arising from it. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
“This is a statement of my beliefs, it is NOT a threat, as some say, and it is not a call for others to act,” Bray wrote.
Bray added that he was working to address what he saw as systemic problems “by any means necessary,” a statement that drew more scrutiny, though he said he intended to pursue peaceful solutions.
“I will use all the means of peace that I can find,” he wrote.
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Anti-abortion rights protesters marched to the Supreme Court during the 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, DC, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
He also said Wyoming’s justice system is “broken” and accused judges of overstepping their authority, writing that the courts are often “the last place you can get justice.”
Bray expanded on that point in his follow-up post, saying that the legal system is often inaccessible to ordinary people.
“Lawyers file frivolous lawsuits intended to use this system as punishment, financially draining their enemies through a process designed to require professional counsel to participate,” he wrote. “Prove you don’t have a lawyer, and you’re not even allowed to present an argument. Justice is denied to anyone who doesn’t pay.”
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He also cited historical and international examples of civil unrest, saying that people will “fight” for justice if they believe it is being denied.
The comments came as legal battles over Wyoming’s abortion laws continue in court.
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Bray, who serves on the Powell City Council, is one of the few local officials to have publicly taken up the issue, which has drawn strong reactions from supporters and opponents of abortion restrictions.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bray for further comment but did not immediately receive a response.
