After Abortion Ruling, Powell City Councilman Calls For ‘Hanging Bad Judges’

A Powell, Wyoming, city councilman is under fire after suggesting on Facebook that the state should start “hanging bad judges.” The comment came one day after a Casper-based judge blocked Wyoming’s latest abortion ban, and it has drawn sharp rebukes from retired state judges, including two former Wyoming Supreme Court justices.

Councilman Troy Bray’s Facebook account posted on Saturday under a lawmaker’s re-share of a news story about the ruling. “The only way Wyoming is going to have freedom is to start hanging bad judges,” the comment read.

Former Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Bill Hill, who is pro-life, did not mince words. “This man is obviously an idiot and does not deserve public office,” he said. Retired Albany County District Court Judge Jeffrey Donnell said Bray has every right to disagree with the ruling, but the comment was irresponsible at best and potentially dangerous at worst. “I know of no more effective way to lose your freedom than to attack, or worse do away with, an independent judiciary,” Donnell said.

Retired Carbon County Judge Wade Waldrip said the remark makes him “very sad.” He noted that Judge Dan Forgey, who issued the injunction, did not seek out the case—it was randomly assigned, and he applied existing law as he understood it.

Powell Mayor John Wetzel called the comment “completely out of line” and “hypocritical and dangerous” but noted he has no authority over a council member’s speech. “That’s up to the voters,” he said. Bray declined to comment.

This is not Bray’s first controversy. In 2021, he sent a vulgar email to state Sen. Tara Nethercott suggesting she should kill herself. Then-legislative leaders condemned the letter. Recently, as a Park County GOP delegate, Bray voiced support for declaring Wyoming a “Christian state,” a measure that failed.

The dispute comes amid ongoing legal battles over abortion. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Wyoming judges have blocked four legislative attempts to ban abortion, citing a state constitutional provision protecting health care autonomy. The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in January that abortion is health care, and access to it is a fundamental right. In response, some lawmakers have tried—unsuccessfully—to amend the constitution or change how judges are selected or confirmed.

Retired Chief Justice Kate Fox said the comment makes her “heart sick.” She noted that judges and court staff are real people with families. “To talk of hanging them makes my heart sick,” she wrote. “If the judicial process isn’t safe, democracy is undermined.”