Billings Police Check Man Near School After 'Our Rights Matter' Sign and Find No Crime

Overview

• Police in Billings, responding to a citizen call Monday, contacted Gabriel Cowan Metcalf outside his home across from Broadwater Elementary and reported no crime.
• The caller described a man in a face covering with a large fixed-blade knife, while officers said they found Metcalf weeding with a sheathed hunting knife on his belt.
• During the brief contact he did not speak, signaled with a nod and thumbs-up, and pointed to a yard sign that read “Our Rights Matter.”
• Metcalf had earlier pleaded guilty in March 2024 to unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone and received three years of probation from a federal judge.
• The Ninth Circuit overturned that conviction in September 2025 for lack of proof he knowingly violated the law, and police now continue to check when residents report concerns.