Bundy Wins Ranch Standoff

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This is good news:

A Nevada cattle rancher appears to have won his week-long battle with the federal government over a controversial cattle roundup that had led to the arrest of several protesters.
Cliven Bundy went head to head with the Bureau of Land Management over the removal of hundreds of his cattle from federal land, where the government said they were grazing illegally.
Bundy claims his herd of roughly 900 cattle have grazed on the land along the riverbed near Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, since 1870 and threatened a “range war” against the BLM on the Bundy Ranch website after one of his sons was arrested while protesting the removal of the cattle.
“I have no contract with the United States government,” Bundy said. “I was paying grazing fees for management and that’s what BLM was supposed to be, land managers and they were managing my ranch out of business, so I refused to pay.”
The federal government had countered that Bundy “owes the American people in excess of $1 million ” in unpaid grazing fees and “refuses to abide by the law of land, despite many opportunities over the last 20 years to do so.”
However, today the BLM said it would not enforce a court order to remove the cattle and was pulling out of the area.
“Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public,” BLM Director Neil Kornze said.

Bundy still faces a federal court battle over the grazing fees, but the danger of a Ruby Ridge-type shootout has passed.

 

30 comments

  2. It’s good news. But it’s not the end of the story. The Feds don’t like to back down — they lose face that way. And they don’t like to lose face.

  3. Exactly my sentiments. Couldn’t post from my mobile for some reason.

    I am not sure Bundy has “won” and I am pretty sure this isn’t over.

    Expect some very vindictive bureaucrats to wait for Bundy’s supporters to disperse. And then look for a Waco-style raid on the Bundy Ranch.

    It may take a week or 6 months but remember that “Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned!”

  9. I’m surprised that the Feds are backing down. I wonder if Reid wants to take the adverse publicity off him for a while? It’s opening a can of worms for him – and he’s all worms. The Feds may have met their match with Bundy. He’s seems tough as nails.

  10. They would hound Bundy to bankruptcy because they have the unlimited funds of the Feds to back them.

  11. No, he’s won a stay of execution. Bundy already lost in court, and will lose again, but that makes it a matter of the law and sheriff’s deputy or two. The official who authorizes the tens of thousands of dollars to be spent on flying/driving in, feeding and housing all those agents in order to rustle a couple hundred head of cattle needs to be exposed, shamed, and sent to Iran for training on how to apply power in a subtle, successful manner.
    Kudos to the Special Agents and LEO from the government who were set up to spark a Ruby Ridge incident in order to justify even worse actions. They didn’t pull the trigger when they could have, and have gotten away with it.

  12. So the Bureau of Land Mangagement is trying to claim they were collecting this $1 million for the American People? You know know whar? I’m good, just write it off, man.

    Besides, the IRS would just take my share to pay for the time Great Grandpa double-dipped at the soup kitchen during the Depression…at least that’s their story.

  15. Excellent news. This has got to stop. When a man owes you money you put him in collections, you don’t surround his house with snipers. Still, I’d be careful missing even so much as one payment of any type now.

  16. Interesting. So it’s all right to steal from hard-working taxpayers if you’re a conservative Republican cattle rancher, eh?

  21. Lest we forget, Robert Mugabe is notorious for stealing farms which have been in the same family for eons to give to his supporters. Reid’s pulling stuff from the Zimbabwe playbook.

  23. Ruby Ridge. Heh. As if his bloodless lot would have the willingness to go to the gun.

    Bureaucrats will find Bundy.

  28. Yeah – formerly-thanks for catching that.
    You how that dang auto-complete is.
    So you’re a troll and internet grammar cop… impressive.

  29. You don’t know how money in ranching works, do you? You don’t even know how Bundy allegedly came to owe $1 million in unpaid fees. You probably believe Pigford is social justice, too.

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