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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOutside Patriot Groups Are Warming Up To The Bundy Siege In Oregon
This is the danger of allowing an already emboldened underground rightwing terrorist movement to continue holding federal property without consequences. The movement is now growing and even groups that distanced themselves from VanillaISIS are finding themselves drawn to the current situation.
If this is allowed to continue, it's only going to get worse in multiple locations around the country.
This is what comes from coddling terrorists.
The takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon by armed anti-government extremists Saturday was initially a step too far for some other hard-right patriot groups. But with the occupiers, led by Ammon Bundy, commanding national media attention for much of the week, their once-skeptical fellow travelers have started to come around.
It's a subtle shift, but in interviews this week some of the most strident extremist critics of the move on the refuge have conceded that the publicity the action has produced is helpful to their cause. And some of the critics have even gotten in on the action, claiming to act as back channels for communications among the armed occupiers, law enforcement, and the local community.
Earlier in the week, groups like the Three Percenters Club Oregon and the Oath Keepers posted statements condemning the decision to occupy the refuge center in Oregon after a demonstration protesting the federal jail sentence facing two local ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond. While members of those groups were involved in organizing the protest that preceded the occupation of the refuge, they decried occupiers' tactics in the immediate aftermath and claimed they were unaware of the plans to make a stand at the refuge.
But now, while they still say it was not a part of the original plan to take over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, they agree with the occupiers message and even appreciate the attention the siege is bringing to the grievances they have against the federal government.
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/militia-groups-warm-up?utm_content=buffer85006&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
ffr
(22,671 posts)They're the same individuals who'll send someone else's kid to fight a foreign war that enriches them. They know not the cost of their actions.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)They're seeing a repeat of that now.
There are no consequences.
ffr
(22,671 posts)This has gone far enough. I don't want Yosemite and Yellowstone to be next.
2naSalit
(86,775 posts)Well, they are becoming some bastardized form of Disneyland and Walmart these days... human saturation (Yellowstone saw 4.2 MILLION visitors in 2015 (2014 saw 3.6 million and that was a bit closer to overwhelming)... most of whom had no clue where they were or that after driving a couple hours after leaving the Interstate (at least) to get there, they had no idea what to expect and wanted the Rangers to act as travel agents and concierges. Makes one wonder how they found their way to the park in the first place... they all thought that their GPS units would work like it does in the city and got lost and became very rude. A lot of them were these militia-types who were more than happy to spout off about the open carry rules and that if they were too close to a bear they'd just shoot it instead of carrying pepper spray which is proven 94% effective defense against charging bears.