Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Weekend Contributor
It appears that the militia groups who arrived in Nevada to support Cliven Bundy with his standoff against the Bureau of Land Management have become a cause of concern for some residents, workers, and businesses in the area surrounding Bunkerville.
Horsford talks Bunkerville militia presence with Rachel Maddow
KLAS-TV/News NOW (Las Vegas) reported on April 29th that hotels in Mesquite had suffered financial losses of more than $100,000 due to concerns about armed militia groups patrolling in the area. News NOW learned that Mesquite police were investigating death threats made to hotel workers following a bomb threat earlier in April.
Evidently, the threats multiplied as armed militia groups continued to pour into the area surrounding Cliven Bundy’s ranch. One city leader in Mesquite said that “the entire Holiday Inn Express was evacuated for hours following a bomb threat related to the Bundy saga…” News NOW obtained a police report which showed that the Holiday Inn Express had received at least nine threatening telephone calls after the hotel allowed BLM rangers to stay there. Hotel workers were told to kick out the BLM or they “would not be standing in the morning.” One hotel worker, who refused to go on camera, claimed that he was told by an anonymous militia member that he would be “dragged out in the parking lot and shot”.
“We are not a playground for armed militias,” Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said during a meeting with area leaders about the militia. Horsford said that he had been contacted by residents of his district who were concerned about the armed militia groups from out of state who were still present in their area. Horsford was told by residents that militia groups had set up checkpoints where residents must prove they live in the area before they are allowed to pass…” He was also told that they had set up a “persistent presence” along federal highways, and state and county roads.
Rep. Horsford wrote a letter to the Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie asking him “to look into complaints that militiamen had been present in Bunkerville-area schools and churches and had set up armed checkpoints on state, federal and county roads, seeking proof of residency from motorists.” Horsford said in his letter, “We must respect individual constitutional liberties, but residents of and visitors to Clark County should not be expected to live under the persistent watch of an armed militia. Residents have expressed their desire to see these groups leave their community.” Horsford added that his constituents were being forced to “‘live under the persistent watch of an armed militia,’ that answers to no particular authority other than its own, and is accountable to no one.” He urged the sheriff “to work with local leaders to ensure that their concerns are addressed in a manner that allows the community to move forward without incident.”
Note: A News NOW crew that was in Bunkerville last Tuesday said it did not find any roadblocks in the area “with militia members checking on people trying to pass.”
The StarTribune reported that Bundy’s neighbors and local authorities have grown weary of the Nevada rancher’s unresolved dispute with the BLM. Bundy has denied that any militia members had set up checkpoints on public property. A group of militia members, however, was reported to have stopped a neighboring rancher who was trucking cattle to Arizona. Bundy said the milita members were just helping his son. “They wanted to ensure that Bundy cattle weren’t being rustled.”
Militias’ Ongoing Presence in Nevada Creates Fear and Friction
Cliven Bundy’s Home on the Range (A Mark Fiore Video)
SOURCES
Concerns growing about militia members at Bundy ranch (KLAS-TV)
Businesses lose thousands in Bundy ordeal (KLAS-TV)
Congressman: Bundy Militia Has Set Up Road ‘Checkpoints’ In Nevada (Talking Points Memo)
Bundy Ranch ‘Militia’ Considered Using Women As Human Shield (Talking Points Memo)
Businesses lose thousands in Bundy ordeal (KLAS-TV/News NOW)
Neighbors grow weary of ‘militia’ remaining with Nevada cattle rancher in federal land dispute (StarTribune)
Nevada Congressman Seeks Probe Of Armed Militia Operations At Cliven Bundy Ranch (Reuters/Huffington Post)
Sheriff urged to clamp down on armed militiamen around Bundy ranch (Las Vegas Sun)
Bundy’s ”Militia” Is Lawlessness of a Different Color (Truth-Out)
Ongoing Militia Presence Raises Fears Among Locals Near Bundy Ranch (Southern Poverty Law Center)
NV lawmaker presses sheriff to probe Bundy militiamen (FOX 5/KVVU-TV)
Nevada lawmaker: Cliven Bundy supporters are setting up ‘checkpoints’ against residents (Raw Story)
The Dark Side Of Cliven Bundy’s Conservative Media-Approved Militia (Media Matters)
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
People are not weary of the Bundy saga and it should NOT be brushed under the rug. It’s obviously ongoing with these militia fools encamped on his property. It’s a dangerous situation which could end in loss of life or injury. It’s a hairs breath away from insurrection.
Nick,
Do you have any knowledge of FOX 5/KVVU-TV and KLAS-TV/News NOW?
Do you believe that all of the sources that I used misrepresented the facts? Did you find my article to be untrue? I can say for myself that I wouldn’t want any out-of-state militia groups who are wielding lethal weapons hanging around the area where I live…and stopping the people who live here to check to see if they are residents. Bundy and his disciples may be buffoons. They could possibly become dangerous buffoons. If the residents of the Bunkerville area are concerned about what is going on where they live, they have every right to be concerned and to ask their representative to look into the problem for them.
Elaine, The Las Vegas Sun is the liberal paper in town and the Star Tribune is pretty liberal. I cut some slack on those 2 actually. There are, quite unfortunately, very few reliable sources anymore. But, there are some that are just really @ the extremes on both ends of the spectrum. I pointed the sources that are extreme, the Sun and StarTribune[which I read often] are just run of the mill left.
Seeking truth is one of the most satisfying careers one can have. Truth often surprises and disappoints. It is often ugly but the fact that is the truth gives it an inherent beauty. I know, as do most people, the truth is hardly ever @ either extreme. It’s often layered, complicated, almost never simple.
I did read your piece. I read all pieces by everyone. I read all comments and chastise those who don’t. Let me repeat what I had to several times on your last Bundy thread. I think he is a buffoon and I am mystified @ the attention he gets from BOTH sides of the spectrum and the media. His 15 minutes of fame has turned into an epic. Are people weary of him and all the commotion. Well, Duh. Who the hell wouldn’t be if they lived around him. I consider this a tempest in a teapot. I consider this a distraction, a freak show, akin to Honey Boo and Duck Dynasty. Go to right wing blogs and I’m sure there are right wing sourced pieces making this guy into Patrick Henry. Bundy provides red meat to both sides. We know too much read meat will kill you.
Hmmm, glad I missed it.
Elaine, excellent article, looks like this is not going to end well.
Nick,
I always look for the truth. I have often been criticized for using lots of sources/links for my articles and follow-up comments. FYI: I did not use MSNBC as a source. Reuters was the source for the Huffington Post article. What say you about some of the other sources that I used–which include FOX 5/KVVU-TV, KLAS-TV/News NOW, StarTribune, and Las Vegas Sun? Have you read my article? Have you found that it is filled with misinformation? Have you found that the sources that I used misrepresented the facts? If so, please let us know what is incorrect in my post and I will correct it.
Obama took a few jabs @ Bundy, linking him to Rand Paul w/ humor and mocking Bundy’s use of “Negro.”
How real are those “fears” and how politically motivated are the people who complain?
Every time somebody stands up in public to say that he/she is afraid, I have to ask whether the emotions are partisan or real.
Thank you Jonathan.
I have deleted a series of comments by different posters that quickly turned this thread into another repeat of last weekend comments on Elaine’s posting. I am not interested in who started what. Posters are allowed to question the points or sources of authors. That goes with the territory. We ask them not to personalize the criticism. I am particularly not interested in seeing a repeat by the same individuals of the personal posts on who should leave or who has left or why someone should be banned. Ninety-nine percent of the comments and commenters on the site see no need to engage in personal criticisms. It is literally half a dozen commenters who repeatedly drag the comments section back into personal tit-for-tats while accusing each other of being uncivil. We are not going to let the comment section get bogged down like last weekend and we are still deleting what appears to be false alias which appear predictably on these threads to try to start fights over past issues. Please focus on the merits of Elaine’s post and not the personalities or past controversies.
I’m gonna get some flea powder.
The sources I “attack” as liberal are the ones that are liberal. There are other sources I did not “attack” as liberal because they are not liberal. Pretty basic stuff.
Fascists with military level weapons marauding and provoking. Whites connected to the Tea Party with backing from the NRA and Washington crumbles. Why isn’t there a category for these criminals. There is a category for them if they were black and still ticked off over being enslaved for centuries to make the whites rich. There is a category if they were indigenous and still ticked off over having their land stolen by types like Bundy and his retard friends. There is a category if they were latino and discriminated against and/or used as cheap labor. But there is no category for retards, armed to the teeth, openly challenging the laws that are there to protect us all. Go figure. Go as Boehner, Trump, and the rest of the fascist right wing.
If the GOP really wanted to start to heal its sick and sorry ass, it would condemn this retard first before Obama does something. This is a prime example of spineless politicians.
McHale asked if it would be appropriate to give Bill Clinton a cigar when Chelsea has her baby. Ouch. He compared Boehner to an orange highway cone. He ripped Chris Christie who was there and laughing @ the barbs. Obama doesn’t laugh when you barb him.
Steak tartare Sunday. MSNBC, Media Matters x 3, Truth Out, SPLC, Huffpo, I had all types of sources in my biz. I ALWAYS considered the perspective of my sources. Of course, my job was to find the truth.
Joel McHale had some hilarious barbs @ the Correspondence Dinner last night. He started talking about “That lesbian reporter on MSNBC, you know..Chris Hayes.”
Oh my, excellent article.
Who will save us all.
Of course, Uncle Clarence, Blind Willie McTell, and the military NSA cause they know everything (Stockholm Syndrome on Steroids? – 2) there is to know between the ears.
The new software being de-bugger here, like destabilization efforts all around the world, has the same behavioral concepts.
Destroy in order to save.
SOP. If these ‘militias’ were instead Black Panthers or a group of Latinos from the National Farm Workers Association, or a gathering of Native Americans who are part of National Congress of American Indians, this would be considered an act of aggression and the white dominated security state would be there with guns blazing. It’s disturbing when these white ‘militias’ can get away with this type of action and the security state turns a blind eye, but if it’s a group of color it’s a resistance that demands a swift and strong response. It’s all BS. These ‘militia’ types are nothing more than uninformed, misled, clueless, white, fanatical gun owners who have nothing better to do than support a rancher who is stealing from the American taxpayer.
Armed domestic terrorists.
In some rural communities it takes very little to ignite those who are insecure, fearful, filled with resentment, and primed for violence in the US as well as in other countries.