A Nevada rancher appears to have backed down after threatening to open up a “range war” with the federal government -- but a horde of 'Patriots' is massing to defend him.
"BLM officials, meanwhile, defend the crackdown on Bundy’s activities by noting that he is the only rancher in the region who refuses to acknowledge or heed the federal permit system for grazing rights. “Cattle have been in trespass on public lands in southern Nevada for more than two decades. This is unfair to the thousands of other ranchers who graze livestock in compliance with federal laws and regulations throughout the West,” the BLM website noted.
Several interviews that Bundy has given over the years makes clear that he subscribes to Patriot movement theories about the legitimacy of the federal government, or the lack thereof, and to Posse Comitatus theories about the enshrinement of the powers of the county sheriff. He also has taken to comparing his confrontation with federal authorities to ill-fated clashes at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas, in the 1990s, that were infamous for inspiring militia organizing the fueled the Patriot movement then.
Bundy’s campaign to ignore federal grazing laws has support among his fellow Patriots, who are now coming to his defense in far-right media outlets. This notably includesAlex Jones’ Infowars, which is avidly promoting the Bundy ranch story, as well as Pete Santilli’s Internet radio show. All of these outlets depict Bundy’s “range war” as a last gasp fight for American freedom against looming federal tyranny. A “We Support Cliven Bundy” Facebook page has a similar tone.
Even the Drudge Report is adopting the Bundy story, leading the site’s front page with updates from the “Standoff At Nevada Ranch” (though in fact no standoff is taking place). So is Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, which has been headlining it on their website’s front page."
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