Absolutely agree. That is a miscarriage of justice; especially them getting an additional 4 years. However they were fighting it within the system. These yahoo who have taken over the federal property are just looking for attention. They are THUGS and no different than the thugs rioting over Black lives matter.
I thin it's kind of funny that white dudes are crying about land being taken from them. Somewhere the 4 American Indians that are left are having a giggle.
I don't understand this situation so if someone can clarify, that would be great. So armed gunmen have taken over a federal building. There are no hostages and the government wants to avoid another branch davidian situation so they step back and don't run a swat team in there. I'm good so far but here's what I don't understand. They are saying that some ranchers who support these guys are bringing them food and supplies. What the hell is that? If you're going to wait these guys out, you can't have people bringing them supplies.
It's Cliven Bundy's son the rancher who was grazing his cattle on federal land and refused to pay. A couple of farmers started a fire on their property that spread to a federal wildlife park and destroyed several acres of land. Those farmers were arrested and served their time then re-arrested because the judge felt they didn't serve enough time. Which by the way is bullshit, they should just have to pay a fine. So Cliven Bundy's son who is an attention whore and a wanna be martyr, saw this as an opportunity to become a martyr and really wants the federal government to start a war with him and his so call patriots, so they seized the wildlife refuge and won't leave and are armed to the teeth.
I understand their reasoning although I can't possibly care enough to research and determine whether what happened to teh al bundy guy was wrong or not. But you may have hit on my question. They have taken over a wildlife refuge? For some reason I thought they were in a building? How big is this refuge and what services are they preventing from occurring.
I'm pretty sure none. It would be like taking over Yellowstone. Maybe they are preventing some tourism revenue? It's 187,000 acres.
The Paiutes are currently claiming it's their land. "Sara J. Hawley, a member of the local Paiute tribe, said the land has never belonged to anybody but the Paiute. “The Burns Paiute Tribe has not ceded any of its rights in the tribe’s ancestral territory,” added Rodrique, pointing to a treaty — never ratified in Washington — that means many Westerners are technically squatting on Paiute land. “They wanted us to give up our land,” Rodrique said. “We never did it.” In 1868, the Burns Paiute Tribe entered into a treaty with the federal government that among other things, guaranteed the protection and safety of the Paiute people and their cultural resources. Six tribe band leaders signed the treaty but the U.S. Senate never ratified it. Without ratification, the agreement was voided and a legal transfer of land never occurred, Rodrique said. “We never gave up our aboriginal rights,” she said. “We did have a treaty but it wasn’t ratified, so therefore it was a contract that was never completed. And so we as a tribe view that this is still our land.” Of course the Paiutes gladly accept federal protection and probably get plenty of money from the feds for having the buildings on "their land". I'm torn on this. The folks who are doing this don't live there and don't really have a dog in other than fighting the feds. However, I have no doubt that what they are claiming is likely true, that "an illegal transfer of sale from private ownership to the government and that an investigation into historical Western real estate sales would unwind federal control of the lands." The process of burning to spur new growth has been going on for decades with very little problem. This one got out of hand and so folks went to jail. Sending them back for more time is absolute bullshit. PETA is now in on it, wanting the protesters to go vegan. That alone may encourage me to support the protesters.
I don't think those farmers should have been sent back to jail. They made a mistake, and they paid for it. But Al Bundy and the No Maam's need to vacate or get buried.
That is the crux of the problem. They ARE in federal buildings that are on the preserve but Paiutes claim the land is theirs do to an unratified treaty from over 100 years ago. The protesters want the local community to maintain ownership so they can continue controlled burns and get benefit of the land. They believe there was an illegal sale to the feds and they want to uncover it. I think they are probably correct which is another reason the feds are trying to keep things calm.
