Helena man who threatened assault at high school sentenced

Logan Sea Pallister, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in January to possession of an unregistered destructive device and possession of an unregistered silencer.

In May 2022, the Helena Police Department received information from an individual that Pallister possessed multiple bombs, had access to multiple firearms, and had threatened to commit an attack at a local high school. He showed her the bombs on May 30, 2022. The witness said the bombs looked like mini propane tanks, but all silver and with a fuse about 4 to 6 inches long, authorities said.

Pallister was arrested on May 31, 2022, at his residence across the street from the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, where authorities located eight firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles and five handguns.

Some firearms were equipped with threaded barrels allowing a homemade silencer to be attached, authorities said. In the vehicle, they found an ammunition crate containing not only ammunition but also a homemade silencer made from an oil filter modified to fit the muzzle of a gun, according to court documents. A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent said shortly after his arrest that he fired the shot, but it was never recorded.

He was seen in photos wearing a black trench coat holding weapons. Pallister allegedly attempted to carry out a Columbine-style attack at a high school that killed 12 students and a teacher in the 1999 Colorado shootings. His arrest came a week after an armed teenager entered a school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers.

He initially faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $250,000, but no fine was imposed during sentencing by the U.S. District Court judge Brian Morris.

Pallister still faces state charges in Lewis and Clark County District Court. His next hearing in district court is scheduled for September 26.

Shortly after his arrest, Helena police said in court documents that they dealt with Pallister in 2020 when he was carrying multiple firearms and had weapons in a duffel bag in his vehicle.

They said that in 2019, he pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon into a local grocery store and openly carrying a TEC-9 style weapon while hiding a semi-automatic pistol under his coat.