Dozens of disability rights advocates gathered near the state Capitol in Helena on Monday to defend a federal civil rights protection that Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is helping to dismantle through a national lawsuit. The rally was equal parts celebration of how far the law has come and alarm about where it may be headed.

At the center of the dispute is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — a federal statute that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in programs receiving federal funding. Advocates describe it as the foundational document of the modern disability rights movement, the legal scaffolding that made accessible schools, government buildings, and public programs a requirement rather than a courtesy.

Knudsen is among a coalition of Republican attorneys general backing a lawsuit that challenges the scope of Section 504, specifically targeting regulations the Biden administration expanded to include protections for people with certain chronic conditions and mental health diagnoses. Supporters of the lawsuit argue the expansions overreached; disability advocates say pulling back those protections would strip coverage from hundreds of thousands of Montanans.

For Helena residents, the stakes are grounded in everyday institutions — the Helena Public Schools, state agency offices, and programs at the Lewis and Clark County level all operate under Section 504 requirements. Advocates at Monday's rally said they wanted to make visible a legal fight that has largely played out in federal courtrooms far from Montana, and to put a human face on what can read as an abstract regulatory dispute.