Helena Man Sentenced After Foiled Columbine-Style School Attack

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - 25-year-old Logan Sea Pallister was sentenced this week in Great Falls federal court to seven and one-half years in prison after his plan was uncovered to commit a Columbine-style attack at Helena High School in 2022.

When he was arrested, Pallister had eight loaded firearms, some with high-capacity magazines, several pipe bombs, and a large amount of ammunition in his vehicle.

The Suspect was Arrested as he Prepared to Carry out his Attack

I spoke with Montana’s U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich this week about Pallister’s sentencing. He said Pallister was thwarted with only a few minutes to spare before he could carry out his plan.

“He was on the verge,” began Laslovich. “I don't think people realize how close this was. we believe had plans to shoot up Helena High School in a Columbine-style attack and he had made homemade pipe bombs, and he had a lot of loaded weapons.”

Laslovich Praised the Woman Who Called Helena Police

Laslovich emphasized the importance of Pallister’s coworker who immediately contacted the Helena Police Department about his threats to attack the school.

“If not for the bravery of a former colleague who was working with him when he was bragging to her about the weapons and saying what he intended to do at the high school, we would have been talking about a different kind of prosecution and we would have had far too many people who would have died.”

Laslovich urged all our listeners and website readers to keep their eyes and ears open in case they overhear plans for the commission of a crime.

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Laslovich said 'It's All Hands on Deck' to Prevent Crime

“It’s all hands on deck, Peter, and you're absolutely right,” he said. “Your listeners need to know when they are hearing some comments from folks who are making threats about hurting other people, whether it's one individual or whether in this instance it's to just randomly shoot people in a school. They must not hesitate to talk to law enforcement.”

Laslovich praised the Helena authorities who successfully apprehended Pallister before he could carry out his plan.

“The work of our law enforcement partners to do the work that they did and to take and to handcuff him without anyone getting injured or killed was miraculous,” he said. “I'm really pleased that now, he was sentenced recently to seven and a half years in federal prison.”

Laslovich reminded me that in federal court, those convicted must serve their entire sentence with no possibility of parole.

Pallister will serve seven and one-half years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.