Missoula police are seeking a quarter of a million dollar Homeland Security grant to help them spy on "extremist" organization The Rainbow Family, a loosely affiliated hippy group which stresses non-violence, peace and love.

The mayor signed off this week on a proposal that if approved would net the Missoula Police Department $254,930 from the DHS to purchase a mobile command unit that would be used to spy on The Rainbow Family, which is listed as an "extremist" organization in the proposal. The unit will also be used by other first responders during emergencies and natural disasters.

The mobile command units, offered to police departments by the DHS after 9/11, are designed to deal with hostage situations, active shooter calls and mass-casualty incidents.

The Rainbow Family "describes itself as a nonviolent group spreading the message of peace and love." The group has only met twice in Montana in the last fifteen years, once in 2000 and once in 2013. The extent of the "threat" posed by the group is that one of its gatherings was described by the U.S. Forest Service as "rowdy".