In Unprecedented Move, State Troopers Union Backs Voter ID, Opposes Question Two
The Maine State Troopers Association has taken the extraordinary move of endorsing Yes on One (Voter ID) and No on Two (Red Flag Gun Control), according to a statement obtained by The Robinson Report.
OCT 28, 2025
In an extraordinary political move, the Maine State Troopers Association (MSTA) — representing more than 300 active state law enforcement officers — has issued a rare public statement endorsing the Voter ID initiative (Question 1) and opposing the Red Flag gun control proposal (Question 2) on Maine’s November ballot.
The endorsement letter, authored by MSP Sgt. Joe Bureau, the MSTA President, signals deep concern within Maine’s law enforcement community over Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ handling of election integrity, as well as the potential threat to trooper safety that the proposed gun control law would entail.
“To protect our future elections, I urge you to vote Yes on Question #1,” Sgt. Bureau said. “Question #2 is horrible for Maine.”
“To protect our future elections, I urge you to vote Yes on Question #1,” Sgt. Bureau said. “Question #2 is horrible for Maine.”
Historically, the State Troopers have avoided political activism. The decision to publicly wade into a contentious referendum campaign underscores what Bureau described as an “especially dire” situation for both election integrity and officer safety.
The MSTA’s statement — posted Sunday night on social media — directly accuses Secretary Bellows of “intentionally misleading the citizens of Maine” in her official ballot language for both referenda.
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Bellows has said that her office is investigating the historic breach of election integrity. However, none of the town officials in Newburgh, where the ballots were originally discovered, have been interviewed by anyone from the Secretary of State’s office or the FBI, meaning there is no investigation underway.
Bellows’ failure to investigate the biggest Maine election scandal in three decades, as well as the ongoing mystery as to how many other absentee ballots have been distributed outside the chain of custody, has only heightened concerns about potential voter fraud and Bellows’ impartiality when it comes to administering elections.
As previously reported by The Robinson Report, Bellows has admitted in a podcast interview that non-citizens are currently registered to vote in Maine — a sharp contrast with her statements last year that non-citizen voting is “based on a lie.”
That contradiction has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over election security.
At the same time Bellows revealed that non-citizens have illegally registered to vote on her watch, she has refused to share the state’s voter rolls with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump administration.
Critics say her office’s refusal to cooperate with federal investigators — combined with her reluctance to pursue ballot integrity lapses — has eroded public trust in the state’s electoral system. Her efforts to exploit the office of the Secretary of State for the special benefit of the Democratic Party follow her botched attempt to remove President Donald Trump from the presidential ballot in 2024, a move that would have effectively disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Mainers and potentially altered the final outcome of the Electoral College.
The Voter ID initiative, led by Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) and Dinner Table Action director Alex Titcomb, seeks to correct those vulnerabilities by requiring photo identification, ending automatic absentee status for voters, and limiting the number of ballot drop boxes.
Troopers: Red Flag Law “Puts Lives at Risk”
The second ballot measure, Question 2, would establish a so-called “Red Flag” or Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) process allowing relatives or police to petition a court to confiscate firearms from someone deemed a danger to themselves or others.
The law would transform Maine’s current Yellow Flag law, which allows for safety precautions to be taken for individuals who own firearms after a due process hearing. Unlike the Yellow Flag law, the proposed referendum would lead to sudden and surprise attempts by law enforcement to seize firearms from individuals, potentially leading to violent confrontations.
Virtually every law enforcement figure in Maine has opposed the referendum, which is being led by a former opera singer from New York.
Bureau and the Troopers’ Association argue that the proposal “poses a serious threat to the citizens of Maine and to the law enforcement community.”
Their opposition centers on due process and officer safety. According to the MSTA statement, the proposed Red Flag law “lacks any serious system of checks and balances,” fails to require mental health evaluations, and “puts officers at extreme risk by not involving them at the beginning of the protection order process.”
“It’s bad for people in crisis, it’s bad for our law enforcement officers, and it’s bad for Maine,” the letter concludes.
Yellow Flag vs. Red Flag: Lessons from Lewiston
Maine already has a “Yellow Flag” law, enacted in 2020 through a bipartisan compromise between Governor Janet Mills and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. That system allows temporary firearm restrictions only after a medical evaluation and law enforcement involvement, ensuring both due process and safety considerations.
Lt. Michael Johnston, a veteran State Police officer who has testified against the new Red Flag proposal, told lawmakers earlier this year that the existing Yellow Flag law “works when properly used” — but warned that the Red Flag proposal “will jeopardize the lives of innocent Mainers and law enforcement alike.”
He noted that the Lewiston mass shooting — which killed 18 and wounded 13 — could have been prevented had officials properly applied the existing Yellow Flag process, rather than expanding to a new and less rigorous system.
Top Maine State Trooper Shreds “Red Flag” Gun Law [WATCH]
JUN 12
On Wednesday, Maine State Police Lt. Michael Johnston spoke before the Judiciary Committee regarding the gun control proposal Mainers will vote on in November, issuing what can only be described as devastating testimony for the far-left backers of the so-called “Red Flag” law.
[Listen to Lt. Johnston’s entire testimony …]
Johnston, who is the MSP official responsible for training others on how to enforce Maine’s current “Yellow Flag” law, gave testimony that can be fairly summarized as: everything the supporters of this referendum are saying is inaccurate, and, in fact, this proposal would make domestic abuse victims and police less safe.
Perhaps that’s why Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) and Rep. Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth), the chairs of the Judiciary Committee, attempted to circumvent the public hearing requirement — but were eventually shamed into abiding by the law.
“In the three and a half years before the Lewiston tragedy, there were just 81 yellow flag applications,” Johnston testified. “Since Lewiston? Over 800. The law is working — what are we trying to fix?”
Johnston’s calm but devastating cross-examination of the proposed gun-grab law dismantled its core premise: that family members need another legal tool to disarm someone they fear is dangerous. He said families already use the yellow flag process — and it’s law enforcement, not legislators, who know how to handle these volatile situations.
Johnston pointed out that his own unit has handled over 50 yellow flag cases and that, statewide, Maine law enforcement has filed 881 successful petitions since the law went into effect. The red flag law, he warned, would sidestep the existing process and create dangerous new situations for both police and the public.
Under the current yellow flag system, a person in crisis is taken into protective custody, evaluated by medical professionals, and only then can weapons be removed. That crucial step — the medical assessment — is skipped under the proposed red flag law, which allows weapons to be seized based solely on a civil court order.
“This would have officers serving firearm removal orders to people found dangerous by a judge, without ever having met them,” Johnston warned. “That’s a recipe for disaster.”
“This Bill Solves a Problem That Doesn’t Exist”
In one of the most searing moments of the hearing, Johnston challenged lawmakers to explain what the new bill could possibly accomplish that the existing system doesn’t already handle.
“I’m not sure what this bill seeks to prevent that is not already covered by Title 17A, Title 19A, Title 5, and the yellow flag statute under Title 34B,” he said.
He also raised the alarm about the confusion the red flag bill could create by overlapping with Maine’s existing domestic violence and harassment protection laws.
“Are victims supposed to file a red flag? A protection from abuse order? Both?” Johnston asked. “This doesn’t add clarity — it muddies the waters.”
Johnston didn’t just attack the bill’s policy failures — he flagged serious legal and tactical flaws that could put officers in the crosshairs, literally.
Unlike yellow flag cases, where law enforcement can intervene in a hospital setting and work collaboratively with families, the red flag bill would send officers directly into potentially hostile homes, with no prior contact or de-escalation.
“We’re not arresting them, we’re not taking them into custody — we’re just showing up to take their guns,” Johnston said. “That’s when people dig in.”
He added that the bill would require cops — not prosecutors — to act as court litigants, filing petitions and appearing at hearings to defend them. “That’s lawyer work,” he quipped. “And we’re not lawyers.”
“If this bill passes,” Johnston cautioned, “expect more high-risk confrontations, more strain on small-town police forces, and a whole lot more confusion.”
the good NATIVE people of Maine had better wise up……all these transplants and “wanna be” Mainers are NOT a good influence…..and being a sanctuary state on top of that is terrible……praying they come to their senses and soon! My Ft Kent Dad must be flipping in his grave right about now…….