Bundy Ranch

[camouflage762]

https://www.google.co.za/url?sa=t&rc...64542518,d.ZGU


Supporters gather to defend Bundy ranch in Nevada, FAA enacts no-fly zone

Published time: April 11, 2014 16:27
Edited time: April 12, 2014 19:18Get short URL



Screenshot from youtube video by user GMN Telemedia




Share on tumblr






Tags
Animals, Arms, Law, Police,Protest, USA

An intense showdown in the state of Nevada between a family of ranchers and federal agents continues to escalate after a longstanding land dispute two decades in the making came to a head earlier this month.
As RT reported earlier this week, hundreds of armed agents with the United States Bureau of Land Management and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have descended on the Clark County, Nevada ranch of 67-year-old Cliven Bundy to execute the court-ordered confiscation of nearly 1,000 cattle, according to his family, which the US government says have trespassed on federal property.
The Washington Free Beacon newspaper reported on Monday this week that 234 of the 908 cattle had been wrangled up by government agents and their contractors, and news of the dispute has since further propelled the story into the national spotlight.
According to a notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration a no-fly zone was enacted for a 3-square-mile area around the site of the Bundy's ranch. That advisory would remain in effect from April 11 until May 11.
Local cowboys have retrieved some of the confiscated cattle according to several reports, and supporters of the Bundy ranch from around the region have flocked to Nevada to stand by their side.
Since the Beacon first reported on the standoff earlier the week, tensions have only worsened in Clark County. Video emerged online on Wednesday of the rancher’s son, Ammon Bundy, bloodied after being shocked by an electric Taser used by authorities, and Desert News reported that, according to Cliven Bundy, his own sister was knocked to the ground by officials moments before cameras began to roll.
One witness, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, told reporters that “Serious bloodshed was narrowly avoided” as a pregnant woman was also roughed up during the ordeal.
"We never did have any hand-to-hand combat this morning or up to his time," Mr. Bundy told the newspaper on Thursday afternoon. "But there's like 200 armed military people on my ranch. That's pretty bad to have that much armed force against American people."
Signs sit at the entrance of a ranch protesting against the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) decision to temporarily close access to thousands of acres of BLM land to round up illegal cattle that are grazing, south of Mesquite, Nevada, April 7, 2014. (Reuters / George Frey)

Countering those personnel are supporters of the Bundy ranch who say the family must be protected from a tyrannical government.
“We need to be the barrier between the oppressed and the tyrants,” Ryan Payne told the Review-Journal. “Expect to see a band of soldiers.”
Payne and other supporters drove from as far away as 12 hours outside of Clark County to come stand by the ranchers’ side, the paper reported, and have received the blessing of well-organized militias from within the region. Payne, a member of the West Mountain Rangers, is also the coordinator of what he described to the paper as being a national association composed of state militias.

Several US senators and the state of Nevada this week also criticized what has been called the result of an “overreaching” agency acting overzealously, but federal officials say the rancher’s cattle are simply not allowed to roam on the disputed land, which the government insists is federal property. According to the BLM, Bundy owes around $1 million in fees that he’s incurred since 1993 when he lost his grazing permit for the chunk of land that had been in his family since the 1870s.
"I would pay my grazing fees to the proper government, which I would say is Clark County, Nevada," he added to the Deseret News on Thursday.
"I don't believe I owe one penny to the United States government," Bundy said. "I don't have a contract with the United States government."
That same day, Bundy’s son Ammon told reporter David Knight that a group of around 20 cowboys had entered the disputed land and quickly retrieved roughly 30 cattle before the federal official could respond.
“We gathered about 30 head,” he said. “We did have a small confrontation with them, but they didn’t have the forces to do a whole lot. They couldn’t mobilize fast enough and we were able to gather those cattle and get them to the ranch.”
Amy Leuders, the director of the BLM's Nevada office, told reporters on Thursday that authorities have been moving in only as a “last resort” resulting from 20 years of Bundy’s noncompliance with regards to paying grazing fees.
According to Leuders, cattle caught trespassing on the federal land will be sold at auction.

[Klasnikov]

Nasty business. Been following it for a couple of days now.

[prepare2win]

[JS4]

Bugger! Was just going to post that!

[krieger]

The BLM agents set up their base camp in a dry creek bed with 40m parallel ridges on both sides.
They then hid behind soft skinned trucks when the armed citizens showed up.

Then the BLM guys called the Las Vegas police and sheriffs department begging for reinforcements. They said NO we ain't coming out there.

They may have the cool military gear but they are missing their brains.

[francois.viljoen]

The Bundy story made my month.

[Herne]

Basically I hate everyone involved. Fuck Bundy, but fuck militarized law enforcement too.

I'm pretty much with the Yankee Marshal on this

[camouflage762]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...armed-standoff

Stunning victory for Bundy family as all charges dismissed in 2014 standoff case

Jan 8, 2018



Cliven Bundy and sons cleared in case of 2014 armed standoff, a major defeat for the federal government that critics fear will empower far-right militia groups



Sam Levin in San Francisco

@SamTLevin

Email
Mon 8 Jan 2018 22.39 GMTFirst published on Mon 8 Jan 2018 21.30 GMT

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• View more sharing options

This article is over 3 months old

Shares

16,018









Ammon Bundy hugs is aunt Lillie Spencer outside a federal courthouse in Las Vegas on 20 December. All charges were dismissed on Monday. Photograph: John Locher/APA judge has dismissed conspiracy charges against rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons, marking an extraordinary failure by US prosecutors and a decisive victory for the Nevada family who ignited a land rights movement in the American west.
The Bundys, who led armed standoffs against the government in Nevada and Oregon, galvanizing far-right militia groups, saw all charges dismissed in Las Vegas on Monday. It was the second major court win for the ranchers in their decades-long battle to oppose federal land regulations.

Cliven Bundy: judge declares mistrial in case against Nevada rancher and family




Read more



Cliven Bundy, 71, and his sons Ammon and Ryan were accused of assault, threats against the government, firearms offenses and obstruction, stemming from the family’s refusal to pay grazing fees for their cattle in Nevada, which escalated into an armed conflict at their ranch in 2014. The judge declared a mistrial in December and ruled on Monday that prosecutors could not retry the case, arguing that the US attorney’s office had willfully withheld evidence and engaged in misconduct.
Angie Bundy, Ryan’s wife, said she hoped the ruling would boost states’ rights and encourage federal regulators to leave ranchers alone.
“The federal government is overstepping so many bounds. I’m hoping they will let states and counties do their jobs and stay out of our land,” she told the Guardian by phone from court. “I hear from ranchers all the time about the horrible abuses they are enduring. I’m hoping this will give some people relief.”




Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

From left to right outside the courthouse: Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jeanette Finicum, widow of Robert ‘LaVoy’ Finicum, Ryan Bundy, Angela Bundy (wife of Ryan Bundy) and Jamie Bundy (daughter of Ryan Bundy). Photograph: John Locher/APThe stunning defeat for the government – which has also been accused of lyingand deceptive tactics in their prosecution of the Bundys – outraged environmental groups that have advocated the punishment of ranchers who defy land-use laws and have supported tighter regulations to protect public lands.
“It’s just a horrific outcome,” said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is going to empower both the militia and the politicians who want to steal America’s public lands. It’s an absolute disaster.”
The Bundys first made international headlines in 2014 when the government attempted to seize their cattle, but retreated in the face of hundreds of supporters at the family ranch in Bunkerville, some heavily armed. Emboldened by the victory, Ammon and Ryan helped lead a takeover of the Malheur national wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon in January 2016 to protest against the imprisonment of two local ranchers.

Rebel cowboys: how the Bundy family sparked a new battle for the American west




Read more



That standoff ended after police killed one of the leaders and arrested the Bundys and their followers. US prosecutors subsequently charged the family and dozens of other men with conspiracy and other charges for both the Nevada and Oregon cases.
A jury found the Bundys not guilty in Oregon in 2016, a surprise verdict that increased pressure on the federal government to secure a conviction in Nevada. But the case unraveled after defense attorneys argued that prosecutors failed to disclose evidence relating to government surveillance cameras and snipers at the ranch during the 2014 dispute. Last month, the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, directed a US justice department expert to assist in the case.




Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Rancher Cliven Bundy, who was released from jail on Monday, pictured near Bunkerville, Nevada. Photograph: John Locher/APSuckling pointed out that Bundy’s cattle continue to graze on federal lands in violation of the law and argued that the decision could encourage supporters to launch new conflicts to fight for unregulated grazing, mining and logging on public lands. “I’m really distraught and outraged at the prosecution and the FBI for their incompetence.”
Cliven Bundy, who became a hero to some rightwing activists in the west and has been in jail for nearly two years, emerged from court on Monday wearing a cowboy hat, telling reporters: “I’m feeling pretty good … I’m not used to being free. I’ve been a political prisoner.”
Angie said she was grateful to hear the judge Gloria Navarro reprimand prosecutors.
“Her words today gave me some hope in the justice system,” she said, adding, “We are so excited to get grandpa home and get our family back together.”

[camouflage762]

https://articles.oregonlive.com/oreg...xxxx_orego.amp

By Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive CLOSE
Email the authorFollow on Twitter



President Donald Trump on Tuesday commuted the sentences of two eastern Oregon ranchers serving time in federal prison for setting fire to public land in a case that inflamed their supporters and gave rise to the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The decision will free Dwight Hammond Jr., 76, and son Steven Hammond, 49,convicted in 2012 of arson on Harney County land where they had grazing rights for their cattle. They were ordered back to prison in early 2016 to serve out five-year sentences.


"The Hammonds are devoted family men, respected contributors to their local community and have widespread support from their neighbors, local law enforcement and farmers and ranchers across the West,'' the White House said in a prepared statement. "Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency.''
Susie Hammond, Dwight's wife and Steven's mother, said she was sound asleep Tuesday morning and awakened by a call from U.S. Rep. Greg Walden. "He said it's a done deal, the papers were signed,'' she recalled. "We've been waiting a long time. I think it's wonderful.''


Though Susie Hammond believed her husband and son had a strong case for clemency, she was reluctant to get her hopes up.
"I've just been sitting here, on the phone since,'' she said. "I still can't believe it. I won't believe it until I see them.''


Trump's move marks yet another big victory for backers of the Hammonds, including Ammon Bundy and his followers who repeatedly cited the case as the trigger for the 41-day occupation of the wildlife refuge that abutted the Hammond family ranch. Bundy viewed the case as an example of the federal government run amok. A jury acquitted him and other key takeover figures of all federal charges.


Both Hammonds were convicted of setting a fire in 2001, and the son was convicted of setting a second fire in 2006. A federal judge initially sentenced the father to three months in prison and the son to one year after they successfully argued that the five-year mandatory minimum was unconstitutional.


They served the time and were out of prison when prosecutors challenged the shorter terms before the 9 ^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and won. Another federal judge in 2015 sent the ranchers back to complete the full sentences.


According to the Trump administration, federal prosecutors who challenged the Hammonds' original sentence filed "an overzealous appeal'' that resulted in full five-year sentences.


"This was unjust,'' the White House said in its statement.
As of this month, Dwight Hammond has served two years and eight months in prison and 31 months of supervised release. His son has served three years and three months in prison and two years of supervised release.
"I am very happy for the entire Hammond family, who I have known and respected for 25 years,'' said attorney Larry Matasar, who represents Steven Hammond. "I hope that Dwight and Steven will soon be able to continue their work on the Hammond Ranch.''


Susie Hammond, Dwight's wife and mother to Steven, several weeks earlier heard that Trump was considering a pardon . At that time, she said she had a "sense that things are moving forward and I have faith in our president. If anyone is going to help them, he'd be the one."


In clemency petitions, lawyers for the Hammonds cited the ranchers' longtime service to their Harney County community, the severity of their punishment, the trial judge's support and their family situation.


"Unlike some cases where clemency may outrage the community, clemency for the Hammonds would be embraced by the Oregon community, both rural and urban,'' wrote Larry Matasar, Steven Hammond's attorney.
The lengthy sentences, plus the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's refusal in 2014 to renew a grazing permit for the Hammond ranch, have crippled the operation, the family has said. The Hammonds have appealed the federal agency's denial.


"If the Hammonds are unable to return to the ranch in the near future, the legacy and livelihood Dwight and Steven Hammond have been building for their family could truly be lost,'' Matasar wrote in his petition. "A clemency would not only serve as a balm to the community's angst about these sentences, but very practically, give the Hammonds a real chance to keep their ranch afloat.''


Dwight Hammond set a prescribed burn on about 300 acres of his own land that then traveled onto Bureau of Land Management property and burned an additional 139 acres, his lawyer wrote. The elder Hammond said he was trying to fend off invasive species.


Prosecutors argued the fire also was to cover up illegal deer poaching and got out of control, placing firefighters who had to be airlifted out of the area in grave danger.
The federal pursuit of the Hammonds followed years of permit violations and unauthorized fires, and they never accepted responsibility, said Oregon's former U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. Her office appealed the lighter sentences because she said the trial judge didn't have discretion to depart from a mandatory minimum sentence. The Hammonds could have faced less than a year in prison under a plea offer they declined, she said.
The Hammonds' lawyers, including attorney Kendra Matthews for the elder Hammond, pointed out in their clemency petitions that the father and son faced other sanctions. They paid $400,000 in 2015 to settle a civil suit brought by the government and are having a hard time sustaining the cattle operation because of the grazing permit denial.


They cited the opinion of the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan, who found the five-year sentences "grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offenses here'' and noted that the fires didn't endanger any people or property.


Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe as well as leaders of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association and Oregon Farm Bureau wrote letters in support of the Hammonds' clemency petitions.


Barry Bushue, president of the Oregon Farm Bureau, on Tuesday, issued this statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Steven and Dwight as they get back to the people and the land they love. We will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that this injustice is never repeated."


Ward, who was the face of law enforcement during the 2016 occupation of the wildlife refuge in his county, wrote to the White House that he personally felt the initial sentences and the financial penalties "covered the debt owed to society.''


"This case was thrust into the national spotlight when, for lack of a better term, anti-government extremists exploited the Hammond family and began attempting to use their unfortunate circumstance to gain support for their own agendas,'' Ward wrote.


He noted that Dwight and Steven Hammond rejected pressure they faced from Ammon Bundy and others to defy federal orders and instead turned themselves in to prison.
"It is my humble opinion that justice would be better served if these gentlemen were afforded the opportunity to return home,'' Ward wrote. "For Dwight to spend his remaining years with his wife. For Steven to return to his family ... and to set an example that along with being a nation of laws, we are a nation of compassion and forgiveness.''


Other letters of support described good deeds done for their neighbors, children and grandchildren's schools, the county's 4H and FFA clubs and many others in need. They spoke of Dwight Hammond's sincerity, decency, his humility and the respect for him in Harney County -- a man who dressed up as Santa Claus for schoolkids and what one friend described as "a real life John Wayne."


Dwight Hammond's wife, who is ailing, lives alone in Burns. Steven Hammond is married with three children.
"I am seeking commutation of my sentence so that I can return home to take care of my wife,'' Dwight Hammond wrote. "I live in fear that one of us will pass before we are reunited.''

Trump's action follows a flurry of pardons, including for Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative author convicted of illegal campaign contributions; I. Lewis Libby Jr., a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney; former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio; and Alice Johnson, 63, serving life for her role in a cocaine distribution ring.


-- mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian