So in your world, anyone and everyone that has a disagreement with their taxes or their permits or licenses or any other .gov requirement should just refuse to play and the.gov should just let them be???
I think you are glorifying an idiot.

We would all like to think that it's noble and courageous to stand up to the evil forces of government, but this db has been in violation for over 20 years. Apparently the administrative and normal law enforcement pathways did not work, as the asshat ignored them. The escalation is his own doing and if anyone were to get hurt or killed, then the responsibility would be solely his.
And if the dead were a bunch of foil hatters who seek any justification to take up arms against the US Government, so much the better. In fact, I feel that those people that showed up armed to support this rancher in armed combat against the government should be prosecuted. They are worse than idiots, they are dangerous idiots. At least they will likely all be included in a few more databases....

Didn't the oath these SPECOP guys took state that they would defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic....?
In my world, rushing into a tense situation with your armed militia buddies hoping for a chance to shoot a federal agent qualifies you as a 'domestic enemy'...

Well said!

Perhaps you might be right if there were not so many instances of the Feds viewing almost any confrontation as a "nail" for their "hammer". regardless of the ranchers various sins, I don't think it was appropriate to send in the reaction forces, armed like they would be in Iraq. It sends the wrong message and actually enflames situations. Those who stood up against the feds will almost certainly be targeted and rostered and investigated. Its sad to think that our govenment will do that. And, "against all enemies, foreign & domestic" is what they swore to uphold; however, those people were not domestic enemies. They are the people of this country, tired of repression and excessive force and control from a federal government that they see as corrupt. The founding fathers predicted this and tryed to put in place protections against it, not thinking that the congress itself would have become a despotic organization, that, instead of representing the states, colludes with a strong central government to corral power at the federal level.

Let's say that Mr. Rancher was, instead, Mr. Weed Grower, tending to his cannabis crop on Federal property and had been doing so for decades . . . same sympathy when the Feds show up to confiscate his crop?

yes...........

Taking up arms against the government definitely makes you a 'domestic enemy'

Claiming that your 20 years of scofflaw activity is actually a legitimate response to repression is a matter of opinion.

The bottom line is that this douche bag has been using public lands for personal gain without paying for it for 20 years.
He has neglected to participate in the appropriate forums where he could express his opinions on the matter. This despite numerous 'invitations' to come to court and air his grievances.
Then, when the feds state that they will start removing the illegal cattle, he responds with armed resistance.
Guy's lucky he's not 6' under already.

Somehow, I doubt that FNC would be covering the story in quite the same way

Why the Feds Tucked Tail on the Nevada Ranch - Fox Nation

What happened to "Law and Order Larry'? The one who has argued countless times that the law has to be followed? The one who has argued that if you want to challenge the law there are avenues that one must pursue? This guy is a criminal by your standard. Should he not be treated as one?

Ruh Roh! ;)

I don't care if they did or not.....

Actually, that wasn't an original FoxNews story. It was on TownHall and linked by Fox. It says so in the byline and at the end of the article is a link to the original.

Pardon me. I'll scour the web and see if I can find . . . oh wait, that didn't take as long as I thought . . .

Nevada rancher threatens 'range war' against federal government | Interviews | Hannity | Fox News

Rancher v. feds: 'It's not about cattle, but abuse of power' | On Air Videos | Fox News

Standoff between ranchers and the feds intensifies in Nevada | On Air Videos | Fox News

Lawmakers upset about 'heavyhandedness' in rancher dispute | On Air Videos | Fox News

...and here is the rest of the story:

"The thing is that the rancher is using public land for his own business."

Shiree Bundy Cox makes the Bundy ranch case.

“I have had people ask me to explain my dad’s stance on this BLM fight. Here it is in as simple of terms as I can explain it. There is so much to it, but here it s in a nut shell.

My great grandpa bought the rights to the Bunkerville allotment back in 1887 around there. Then he sold them to my grandpa who then turned them over to my dad in 1972. These men bought and paid for their rights to the range and also built waters, fences and roads to assure the survival of their cattle, all with their own money, not with tax dollars.

The rights to the land use are called preemptive rights. Some where down the line, to keep the cows from over grazing, came the Bureau of Land Management. They were supposed to assist the ranchers in the management of their ranges while the ranchers paid a yearly allotment which was to be use to pay the BLM wages and to help with repairs and improvements of the ranches.

My dad did pay his grazing fees for years to the BLM until they were no longer using his fees to help him and to improve. Instead they began using these monies against the ranchers. They bought all the rest of the ranchers in the area out with they’re own grazing fees. When they offered to buy my dad out for a penance he said no thanks and then fired them because they weren’t doing their job.

He quit paying the BLM and tried giving his grazing fees to the county, which they turned down. So my dad just went on running his ranch and making his own improvements with his own equipment and his own money, not taxes. In essence the BLM was managing my dad out of business.

Well when buying him out didn’t work, they used the endangered species card. You’ve already heard about the desert tortoise. Well that didn’t work either, so then began the threats and the court orders, which my dad has proven to be unlawful for all these years.

Now they’re desperate. It’s come down to buying the brand inspector off and threatening the County Sheriff. Everything their doing at this point is illegal and totally against the Constitution of the United States of America.

Then there’s the issue of the cattle that are at this moment being stolen. See even if dad hasn’t paid them, those cattle belong to him, regardless of where they are they are my father’s property. His herd has been part of that range for over a hundred years, long before the BLM even existed. Now the Feds think they can just come in and remove them and sell them without a legal brand inspection or without my dad’s signature on it. They think they can take them over two borders, which is illegal, ask any trucker. Then they plan to take them to the Richfield Auction and sell them. All this with our tax money.

They have paid off the contract cowboys and the auction owner as well as the Nevada brand inspector with our tax dollars. See how slick they are? Well, this is it in a nut shell.

Thanks”

-Shiree Bundy Cox

Shall we guess how far Ms. Cox' "story" went in court?

The "he quit paying the BLM" part sort of does it for me.

If it is true that he/his family bought the land, or the rights to the land, long before the BLM existed and/or managed land, what rights would he have? Is it possible to refuse "management" by the government?

Let's just take her story at face value for a moment, what would everyone's thoughts on the BLM be then?

MV