"Former Law Enforcement"
That is how he introduces himself. Here is what the record actually shows.
Chad Christensen calls himself "former law enforcement." His campaign website says it. His social media bio says it. He invokes the credential when demanding accountability from agencies, when questioning others' credibility, and when positioning himself as uniquely qualified to reform Idaho government.
The record is more complicated. He was a state parole officer and a welfare fraud investigator for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Those are legitimate positions. They are not the same as being a police officer, a sheriff's deputy, or a sworn peace officer with arrest authority. He was never employed as any of those things. He applied to Blackfoot Police Department after leaving state service. They reviewed his personnel file and rejected him. Idaho Falls PD was a possibility he said he chose not to pursue.
He was terminated from State Probation and Parole. He resigned from the Department of Health and Welfare. His sworn deposition, taken August 1, 2023 in Case CV10-21-1197, describes what happened at each.
State Probation and Parole
Chad Christensen was terminated from Idaho State Probation and Parole. Under oath in a sworn deposition on August 1, 2023, he was asked directly what happened. His explanation, in his own words (Deposition of Chad Christensen, pp. 22-24, CV10-21-1197):
Q: "What was the reason for that termination?"
A: "I was in charge of Fugitive Recovery Unit and they deemed that I was too... I guess, 'mean' was the word for it... to the fugitive. Too 'harsh,' I guess, was the official word that they used."
Q: "Tell me what happened that resulted in that termination."
A: "So I was trained by the previous guy in charge of fugitive recovery. And he would tell me to frustrate the fugitive in all ways possible, including calling their cell phones that they are using for... the drug phones we believe were drug phones that were used to do drug deals. And I would leave messages, just play music, whatever, just tie it up. And apparently one of the songs was a... was a song they deemed a violent song. I just played the radio when I was out doing work, so it just came on. I didn't intentionally use that song. But a fugitive used that song to say I threatened his life. I didn't threaten his life. But then the department decided that it was too aggressive or too..."
He was filling fugitives' voicemail boxes with music as his method of "frustrating" them. A rap song with threatening lyrics caused a fugitive to file a life-threat complaint. The department investigated and terminated him. His own account frames it as accidental — the song just came on the radio — but the outcome was the same.
On Facebook, he has reframed the termination as a badge of honor: "Yes, I was fired from felony state probation and parole for being 'too mean' to a felony fugitive when going after him. I did find him and arrest him. I was good at what I did."
Under oath, he describes a supervisor-coached harassment method that escalated to a formal complaint. The department terminated him for conduct deemed too aggressive. His Facebook post calls it a badge of honor. The deposition is the sworn record.
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
After being terminated from State Probation and Parole, Christensen moved to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, where he worked as a welfare fraud investigator. He received a written disciplinary action there as well, and eventually resigned.
Under oath (Deposition, p. 68, CV10-21-1197):
"Other than the fact that you were let go from your position with State Probation & Parole, have you had any other workplace discipline that was not termination-related?"
"I got written up, welfare fraud, for leaving a car running unattended. That's all. I don't recall anything else."
He left a state vehicle running unattended. That is the documented disciplinary record from his time as a welfare fraud investigator. He subsequently describes both positions as his "law enforcement career" in campaign materials.
What Facebook Says vs. What He Testified
| What His Facebook Bio Claims | What He Testified Under Oath |
|---|---|
| "State of Idaho, Law enforcement, Jan 2000-Aug 2011" (clean, unbroken) | Terminated from State Probation and Parole. Deemed too "mean" and "harsh." Filled fugitive's voicemail with music; a rap song caused a life-threat complaint. |
| Clean record at Health and Welfare | Written up for leaving a state vehicle running unattended. |
| SE Idaho Investigations, Aug 16, 2010-Present | Deposition: "Prior to 2011, when you started Southeast Idaho Investigation..." (a one-year discrepancy vs. Facebook) |
| Implies continuous law enforcement credential | Applied to Blackfoot PD after termination from Probation and Parole. Rejected. They reviewed his file and "didn't like what they saw." |
He was never hired as a police officer. He was never a sheriff's deputy. He applied to Blackfoot PD and Idaho Falls PD after his state probation termination. Blackfoot said no after reviewing his file. Idaho Falls, according to his deposition, was a possibility he chose not to pursue because he preferred to stay in the state retirement system.
He was a parole officer and a welfare fraud investigator. Neither position made him a police officer. Both state jobs ended badly. He has spent years presenting the credential as if they are equivalent.
Blackfoot PD Said No
After his termination from State Probation and Parole, Christensen applied to Blackfoot PD and Idaho Falls PD. Real law enforcement agencies. The kind that put officers on patrol, make arrests, and employ sworn peace officers.
Blackfoot Police Department reviewed his probation and parole file and declined to hire him.
His sworn testimony on that rejection (Deposition, pp. 34-35, CV10-21-1197):
Q: "Did they tell you why?"
A: "Because they saw my probation and parole file, and they didn't like what they saw, they said."
He does not know what specific item in the file caused the rejection. He was not told. The agency that reviewed his actual personnel record concluded that record was disqualifying. He has presented a "former law enforcement" credential to voters ever since.
The Insurance Years
Farm Bureau: Contract Terminated
After leaving state government, Christensen obtained an insurance license and entered the Farm Bureau system. According to sources with direct knowledge, he was positioned to take over the book of business from a retiring Farm Bureau agent. One of those accounts belonged to the family business of sitting Idaho Representative John Mickelsen. The retiring agent told Farm Bureau management that transferring his long-standing accounts to Christensen was a deal-breaker. The transfer did not happen.
Christensen's Farm Bureau contract was subsequently terminated. In his deposition, he testified that Farm Bureau "wouldn't give me a reason."
He has also stated publicly that Farm Bureau extended him a line of credit to start his business and that he refused to repay it. That is his own account of the situation.
From X/Twitter, September 2025, two public responses offered additional context:
The contract ended. A colleague had objected to account transfers on his behalf as a deal-breaker. He publicly stated he did not repay money Farm Bureau advanced him.
State Farm: Working Under EmmaLee Robinson
After Farm Bureau, Christensen obtained a position at State Farm working under EmmaLee Robinson at her Idaho Falls office. This is the same EmmaLee Robinson who, as established in Bonneville County District Court Case CV10-21-1197, coordinated the secret recording of Gregory Graf, helped Christensen download the recording app to her phone, forwarded the recording to him, and from whose recording Christensen and Greg Pruett built the multi-part smear campaign against Graf.
Christensen left Robinson's agency after his marriage to Lana on November 26, 2022, while the lawsuit he had filed against Graf was still active. The lawsuit ran until the summary judgment ruling in October 2023.
Goosehead Insurance: The Franchise and the Funding Question
After leaving State Farm following his marriage in late 2022, Christensen acquired a Goosehead Insurance franchise. Goosehead's published franchise disclosure documents show the startup investment ranges from approximately $25,000 to $50,000, covering franchise fees, initial marketing, and operating capital requirements.
At this point in his documented financial history: he had no state employment income, no Farm Bureau contract, a publicly stated refusal to repay a Farm Bureau line of credit, no consistent documented income from his private investigations business, and an active lawsuit. His wife, Lana, whom he had married on November 26, 2022, had previously received a life insurance death benefit on the policy of her deceased prior husband.
How the franchise startup cost was funded, given no state employment, no Farm Bureau income, a publicly stated refusal to repay a business line of credit, and an active lawsuit, is part of the documented record.
He subsequently stopped working with Goosehead.
Primerica, Real Estate, and Side Work
His next announced insurance affiliation was Primerica, a commission-only distribution model operating on a multi-level marketing structure. Any licensed insurance producer can affiliate. There is no franchise fee. There is no employer relationship. Income is commission on sales only.
Simultaneously, he has described obtaining a real estate license and has affiliated with more than one brokerage. His public Facebook posts document additional income work including DoorDash delivery and operating a mobile crane as side jobs.
Position by Position
He has run for the Idaho Legislature twice. He is running a third time.
The Idaho Legislature pays a base salary of approximately $25,000 per year plus per diem. It provides state health and dental benefits. Members with sufficient service become eligible for PERSI, the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho, a defined-benefit pension funded by Idaho taxpayers, accruing with years of service, providing guaranteed retirement income regardless of private sector savings or investment performance.
Chad Christensen campaigns as a fiscal conservative and government accountability advocate. His documented employment history across state agencies, oil fields, private investigations, insurance, real estate, and gig work shows a recurring pattern of short tenures and employer departures. Whether legislative office, with its state salary, state benefits, and PERSI pension eligibility, represents a meaningful financial incentive for someone in that position is part of the documented record.
He uses social media to demand accountability from others in real time. The one case where accountability pointed at him, he has been silent for twelve years.
Charges He Has Never Disclosed
Under oath on August 1, 2023, Chad Christensen was asked directly whether he had ever been charged with a crime. He acknowledged three separate incidents. None appear in any of his campaign materials.
Q: "What kind of charge was that?"
A: "It was a misdemeanor at first, and then I show up at court and they raised it to a felony."
Q: "How was that resolved?"
A: "Withheld judgment."
Q: "So you entered a plea agreement that they offered you a withheld judgment on it?"
A: "Yes."
Deposition of Chad Christensen, August 1, 2023, pp. 64-65, CV10-21-1197, Bonneville County District CourtChad Christensen campaigns on mandatory minimum sentences and opposing plea deals. He entered a plea agreement to resolve a felony-elevated charge in North Dakota at age 34, with a decade of law enforcement background and an active PI license. Four years later he pled a second oil-related charge down to a misdemeanor in Bannock County, Idaho, one year before his first run for office. He has never mentioned either to voters.
Public Records vs. Public Posts
A public records request to the Idaho Department of Correction seeking communications from Chad Christensen returned no responsive emails. None.
Then consider what he posted publicly on December 7, 2024, in a Facebook group called "Life In Idaho Falls! (SE Idaho)," when a violent offender with pending first-degree murder charges escaped from an IDOC work camp:
"As a former employee of IDOC, a parole officer, I am deeply troubled by this situation...I know the protocol. Whoever is responsible for the decision of putting this DANGEROUS criminal in a work camp needs to be terminated IMMEDIATELY! Not a desk job, TERMINATED!"
He addressed IDOC Director Josh Tewalt and Governor Brad Little directly. He signed the post: "Former Representative Chad Christensen, chadforidaho.com."
He invoked his IDOC credentials as authority, writing "I am a former employee of IDOC, a parole officer. I know the protocol," having been terminated by that same agency for being too "mean" with a fugitive and subsequently rejected by the next law enforcement agency that reviewed his file. He directed his demands to the Governor and IDOC Director as if he held official standing, from a neighborhood Facebook group, as a private citizen with no current authority over IDOC operations.
The public records request found no emails from him to IDOC through official channels. His IDOC communications happen through Facebook, not through official correspondence, which raises a separate question about how other IDOC-adjacent matters in his record, including the allegations around Ty McMillan's parole supervision, may or may not have been documented.
This is what "former law enforcement" looks like in practice: a Facebook post demanding terminations from a man who was himself terminated, signed with a campaign website URL, addressed to a governor he has repeatedly threatened and told to "shove off."
Christensen's December 7, 2024 public post in "Life In Idaho Falls! (SE Idaho)" Facebook group, signed with his campaign website. A public records request to IDOC returned zero responsive emails from him through official channels.
The McMillan Matter
Chad Christensen's 2026 campaign platform states, under "Issues": "Push for mandatory minimum sentences for sex crimes, particularly offenses against children. Judges are handing out slaps on the wrist. Chad believes enough is enough."
He also campaigns publicly against plea deals in criminal cases, presenting negotiated plea arrangements as the kind of soft-on-crime outcome he would eliminate.
The following is a documented account of an incident from his time as a sitting state representative. It involves a man who was on parole after a plea arrangement dismissed his most serious charges, that man's wife, and the Idaho Secretary of State records that connect her name to a business Christensen filed.
The Criminal Record (Public Record, Idaho Court System)
Ty McMillan was charged in Idaho with the following: three counts of Lewd Conduct with a Child Under 16 (Idaho Code 18-1508, Felony, filed 08/03/2012); one count of Incest (Idaho Code 18-6602, Felony, filed 08/03/2012); and one count of Kidnapping, Second Degree (Idaho Code 18-4501-II, Felony, filed 08/23/2012).
The lewd conduct and incest charges were dismissed. He was convicted of and on parole for kidnapping of a minor. He was serving parole supervision for that conviction.
The Business Filing (Public Record, Idaho Secretary of State)
On June 5, 2020, Chad Christensen filed Iron Rod Construction LLC with the Idaho Secretary of State (File #0003901338). The document lists Christensen as the Registered Agent and Organizer. The member listed as Governor of the LLC is Melissa J., Malad, Idaho.
Melissa J. is the then-wife of Ty McMillan. She used the last name Jeppsen, her maiden or alternate name, on the business filing while still legally married to McMillan. View her social profile
Iron Rod Construction LLC, Idaho Secretary of State File #0003901338, dated June 5, 2020. Available at: sosbiz.idaho.gov
Christensen's Own Sworn Admission
In his sworn deposition (August 1, 2023, CV10-21-1197), Christensen confirmed a relationship with Melissa. He described it as beginning in June 2020 and lasting approximately one month.
Q: "Why did that relationship end?"
A: "Because I found out she wasn't actually divorced yet. So I stopped it."
He denied a sexual relationship with Melissa. He confirmed the relationship existed while she was still married to McMillan. He did not dispute the Iron Rod Construction filing or her name on it.
What Gregory Graf Testified Under Oath
Gregory Graf gave sworn deposition testimony in Bonneville County District Court Case CV10-21-1197. Graf then testified that a confidential source provided him with a detailed account, which he relayed under oath. According to Graf's sworn testimony, that account described the following:
Ty and Melissa McMillan were supporters of Christensen's 2020 legislative campaign. When Ty McMillan was jailed for a parole violation, Melissa sought Christensen's help. Graf testified that, according to the source, Christensen responded by reaching out to Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin and writing her a letter on McMillan's behalf. The source further described pressure being applied to the parole officer to retract the violation report. McMillan was released.
Graf testified that, according to the source, McMillan then discovered Christensen had been in a relationship with his wife during the period McMillan was incarcerated. McMillan subsequently contacted multiple elected officials to report what had happened.
In Graf's own words from that sworn testimony:
"Here he is preying upon... in my opinion, preying upon an individual who is a woman who is in a desperate situation, seeking his help, using his position as a representative to give help."
That is Graf's stated opinion, offered under oath in a court proceeding. Multiple independent sources, including one with direct knowledge in federal law enforcement, have provided accounts consistent with the sworn deposition testimony above.
Evidence: Sworn Deposition of Gregory Graf, CV10-21-1197
View deposition p. 75 (Iron Rod Construction) • View deposition p. 76 (Melissa McMillan)
Christensen's connection to Janice McGeachin, whom Graf testified Christensen contacted on McMillan's behalf, is documented in public photographs from his 2018 campaign:
Chad Christensen with Janice McGeachin at a 2018 campaign event (public photograph).
The Platform
Chad Christensen's 2026 campaign website states he will push for "mandatory minimum sentences for sex crimes, particularly offenses against children. Judges are handing out slaps on the wrist. Chad believes enough is enough."
Ty McMillan was originally charged with three counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16, one count of incest, and one count of kidnapping of a minor. The lewd conduct and incest charges were dismissed. He was convicted of and placed on parole for kidnapping of a minor, which itself appears to reflect a plea arrangement that reduced his exposure on the most serious charges.
Christensen campaigns against plea deals for offenders. McMillan appears to have benefited from exactly that kind of arrangement. According to sworn deposition testimony in Bonneville County District Court, Christensen then wrote to the Lieutenant Governor of Idaho seeking to reduce the consequences McMillan faced when he subsequently violated that parole.
Christensen is also on the public record criticizing others for accepting plea deals in criminal cases. In 2013 he resolved a felony-elevated charge from North Dakota oil field work with a withheld judgment plea agreement. In 2017, one year before his first legislative run, he was charged in Bannock County for dumping oil drilling fluid on a public road and pled the charge down to a misdemeanor. He has never disclosed either to voters.
The Idaho Secretary of State filing placing Melissa J.'s name alongside Christensen's on a business formed in June 2020 is a public record, available at the Idaho Secretary of State website, File #0003901338, dated June 5, 2020. Those facts can be verified by anyone.
Left: Chad Christensen and Henry Eyring, March 2020 (public Facebook post). Right: Iron Rod Construction LLC, filed June 5, 2020, with Ty McMillan's then-wife as co-member.
Read this very carefully. Every fact in this section is sourced from public records, sworn court testimony, or Idaho Secretary of State filings. The court record is CV10-21-1197, Bonneville County District Court. The business filing is available at sosbiz.idaho.gov. Christensen's own sworn deposition confirms the relationship with Melissa and its timing. No claim here is unsourced. All sources are available on the Full Record page.