Bill Allemand

Bill Allemand (born 1959) is an American rancher, trucking-company owner and Republican politician who has represented the 58th district in the Wyoming House of Representatives since January 2023. A member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, he has served on the House Appropriations Committee. His legislative work has included bills concerning shooting predatory animals from vehicles, foreign ownership of land, and federal land management. In 2025, he became a leading opponent of a proposed nuclear-microreactor manufacturing plant near Bar Nunn, Wyoming. The developer subsequently selected Tennessee for the project, a decision Governor Mark Gordon attributed in part to opposition and fearmongering by the Freedom Caucus.

Allemand was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in December 2025 and spent two days in jail following the arrest. A state test later reported a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.24 percent, three times Wyoming's general legal limit of 0.08 percent. In July 2026, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, received a suspended jail sentence and was placed on unsupervised probation. Court reporting about the case also disclosed earlier Kansas proceedings involving a dismissed domestic-battery charge and a no-contest plea to violating a protection order.

Early life and career

Allemand was born in Casper, Wyoming, in 1959. He grew up on his family's ranch near Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 in northeastern Natrona County, outside Midwest and Edgerton. He graduated from Midwest High School in 1977 and attended Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas, from 1980 to 1982.

Political career

Elections

Allemand ran for Wyoming House District 58 in 2022. He defeated Patrick Sweeney in the Republican primary with 1,369 votes, or approximately 62.8 percent, and was unopposed in the general election apart from write-in votes. He took office in January 2023.

In 2024, Allemand defeated Republican primary challenger Tom Jones with 1,017 votes, or approximately 70.3 percent, and again faced no listed general-election opponent. Allemand therefore ran unopposed in both the 2022 and 2024 general elections, facing only write-in votes after winning each Republican primary.

Campaign Contributions:

Allemand $3,000 Carleen and Daniel Brophy $3,000 Peri Wheeler $1,500 Shannon Wheeler $1,500 Bill Owens $1,000 Curtis E Meier $1,000 John Allemand $1,000 Mary Owens $1,000 Niki Allemand $1,000 Robert Deitz $1,000

Of note is Carleen and Daniel Brophy, Daniel being a former commodities trader in Chicago. It is noted that "Brophy was Wyoming’s biggest single donor in the primary elections in August. He was a one-man version of a political action committee in a state where even donations under the $1,500 cap for primary contributions can go a long way. Almost all donations by Daniel Brophy are matched by his wife Carleen. That means most beneficiaries of his wealth receive up to $3,000 for their primary elections, which in many cases becomes the bulk of their spending money. As one candidate put it, that’s a mailing to every registered voter in his district.

Wyoming Freedom Caucus

Allemand is identified by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus as one of its members. The caucus is affiliated with the State Freedom Caucus Network, which WyoFile described as a national right-wing political organization seeking to establish hard-line majorities in state legislatures. Modeled on the congressional House Freedom Caucus, the network supplies affiliated caucuses with staff, legislative research, communications assistance and political strategy.

During Allemand's tenure, Jessie Rubino served as the salaried Wyoming state director of the State Freedom Caucus Network. WyoFile reported that Rubino researched legislation and transmitted the caucus's voting recommendations to members and allied legislators by text message, sometimes while votes were underway. Then-chairman John Bear confirmed that the messages summarized Rubino's and the caucus's preferences, and the caucus frequently voted as a unified bloc.

After release of the body-camera footage from Allemand's DUI arrest, he said that Freedom Caucus leaders had discussed the case with him and indicated that the organization continued to support him. The caucus continued to list Allemand as a member after his guilty plea and after reporting disclosed his Kansas criminal proceedings.

The bill drew questions about firearm safety and whether officers and members of the public could readily distinguish lawful shooting on private property from prohibited shooting from a public road. Public reporting on the measure did not identify a statewide count of prosecutions under the former law or a specific case in which a rancher had been unfairly prosecuted. The Legislature nevertheless passed the bill, making it Allemand's first successful individually sponsored measure.

During debate, Allemand connected the proposal to the Chinese surveillance balloon that crossed the United States in early 2023. He argued that foreign ownership near military installations, infrastructure and mineral resources presented a security concern. Critics questioned whether the bill's definitions were sufficiently precise and warned that it could affect lawful residents and commercial transactions without a demonstrated connection to espionage.

Opponents compared the proposal with Wyoming's former alien land laws, which were enacted to prevent Japanese immigrants from owning property and settling in the state. Representative Mike Yin referred to the internment of Japanese Americans at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center during World War II and Wyoming's subsequent efforts to prevent them from remaining in the state. "I don't want us to repeat history," Yin said. Other legislators warned that the bill discriminated according to national origin, conflicted with a provision of the Wyoming Constitution guaranteeing resident aliens the same rights as citizens in the possession and enjoyment of property, and could force existing owners to sell under financial duress. Representative Clark Stith said buyers would know that affected owners had to divest within two years and could acquire the property at a significant discount. The House rejected the bill by a vote of 39 to 23.

For public recreation, the preferred alternative would have prohibited off-road vehicle use on 225,537 acres while retaining designated motorized routes on approximately 3.37 million acres. It did not propose closing the entire planning area to recreation or public access. Supporters said the proposal better balanced development with wildlife habitat, tribal cultural resources and long-term protection of public lands. Jason Baldes, an Eastern Shoshone tribal member and vice president of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, said the plan would help protect traditional homelands from exploitation. Energy companies, ranching interests and several Wyoming elected officials opposed the preferred alternative, arguing that its restrictions would harm existing industries and depart from the Bureau of Land Management's multiple-use mandate.

Radiant subsequently entered an agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit and the United States Air Force to deliver a Kaleidos reactor to a military installation. The federal Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program was established to provide military bases with independent, continuous power, including during disruptions to the civilian electric grid. Reuters described the Department of Defense as accelerating microreactor development to obtain off-grid, 24-hour power for bases and military operations.

Radiant planned to remove the used fuel at the factory and store it in dry casks until the federal government established a permanent repository. The company described the spent fuel from each unit as having a volume roughly equal to two propane cylinders. The proposed site was more than one mile from the nearest home and, according to the company, satisfied Nuclear Regulatory Commission distance requirements. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission states that properly designed dry-cask systems provide sealed containment, radiation shielding and passive cooling and are considered a safe method of storing spent nuclear fuel. Opponents emphasized that the United States still lacks a permanent repository and argued that nominally temporary storage could therefore continue indefinitely.

Radiant projected that the facility could create up to 10 construction jobs in 2026, 75 jobs by 2028 and 250 jobs by 2035. The company proposed investing more than $150 million, while Natrona County supported an application for a $25 million state infrastructure grant for water, sewer and related improvements. Bar Nunn had approximately 3,000 residents and about 1,070 households. Its 2024 median household income was approximately $98,800. The company's long-term forecast was equivalent to more than eight jobs for every 100 town residents, although employees could have commuted from the wider Casper and Natrona County labor market.

Allemand's opposition

Allemand supported the manufacturing component but opposed changing Wyoming law to allow Radiant to keep spent fuel at the facility. At a July 2025 town hall attended by about 200 people, he said, "Bar Nunn does not want nuclear waste. We want manufacturing. We would love for Radiant to come here and manufacture and put the waste somewhere else."

Dispute with Peter Boyer

The project divided Allemand from Peter Boyer, the mayor of Bar Nunn and a former political ally. Boyer moved his family to Bar Nunn in 2016, was appointed to the town council in 2018, served as a council member through 2022 and was subsequently elected mayor. An Iraq War veteran who served two tours and worked transporting crude oil, Boyer supported continuing negotiations with Radiant and later challenged Allemand in the 2026 Republican primary. Boyer argued that the town should evaluate the proposal on its merits rather than reject it before regulatory and economic details were completed.

At the July town hall, Boyer responded to a community rumor that Radiant had paid him for his support. The reporting did not identify a named source for the allegation. Boyer said, "I've never taken money. I wouldn't ever take money. I didn't go to Iraq, serve my country for eight years, bleed, watch my friends die so I can be accused of bribery." He described the allegation and the hostility surrounding the project as unacceptable.

The deputy reported finding an open beer can and four unopened cans in the vehicle, along with a loaded handgun. Allemand said he had consumed two beers. The state later reported that a blood test showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.24 percent, three times Wyoming's general legal limit of 0.08 percent. Allemand and his attorney disputed the accuracy and admissibility of the result. Mothers Against Drunk Driving identifies alcohol-impaired driving as a major preventable cause of traffic death.

Allemand was jailed following the arrest and was released after serving two days.

After the footage was released, Allemand argued that the traffic stop was unjustified and told WyoFile that it "shows that I was not drunk" but instead showed how law enforcement had treated him. WyoFile reported that the recording showed him speaking slowly and repeatedly questioning the reason for the stop. The stop followed the independent REDDI report and the deputy's observation of Allemand stopping just short of a passing vehicle. Magistrate Judge Jeremy Kisling later ruled that the report and perceived traffic violation provided reasonable suspicion and probable cause for the stop and that indications of intoxication justified extending the investigation.

While the case was pending, the court required Allemand to undergo random alcohol testing. He asked that testing be suspended while he attended the 2026 legislative budget session in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The court denied the request, leaving the testing condition in effect while he performed his legislative duties.

2026 campaign

Allemand sought a third term in 2026 against Boyer. Their campaign centered in part on the collapse of the Radiant proposal, with Boyer describing it as a lost economic opportunity and Allemand defending his opposition to spent-fuel storage.

The DUI case also became a campaign issue. Allemand's July guilty plea confirmed that he had driven after drinking, resulted in a suspended jail sentence and probation, and generated renewed reporting on two Kansas cases. In the 2001 case, a domestic-battery charge was dismissed after Allemand completed a year-long diversion agreement. In the 2009 case, he pleaded no contest to violating a protection order and received a suspended jail sentence and probation.

Boyer criticized Allemand's handling of both the nuclear project and the DUI case. Allemand narrowly retained the Republican nomination, receiving 800 votes to Boyer's 773 in unofficial results.