(Utah) BLM workers on alert after wrangler threatened with gun on I-15

[struggle4progress]

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

Terror ploy? Assailants hide behind hoods, mask license plate while making death threat.
By Erin Alberty
First Published 1 hour ago • Updated 1 hour ago

With anti-government sentiments roiling in the aftermath of Cliven Bundy’s Nevada standoff, government workers in western Utah are stripping BLM logos from their vehicles after two motorists brandished a gun and displayed a threatening sign at a federal wrangler who was driving Tuesday in Juab County.

The wrangler was driving a load of horses and burros north on Interstate 15 about 11 a.m. near Mills when a dark blue Dodge 1500 extended-cab pickup pulled up alongside the wrangler. The two occupants "told him he was No. 1 with that certain gesture," said Eric Reid, the wrangler’s supervisor at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Fillmore Field Office.

The pickup fell back and the wrangler continued north. A few minutes later, the pickup reappeared, Reid said. The men, wearing hoods, held up a sign, apparently scrawled on a piece of paper, that read, "You need to die." One of the men pointed what appeared to be a Glock handgun at the wrangler.

The wrangler tried to make out a license plate number, but the plate had been covered with duct tape, Reid said ...

Read more: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57917374-78/wrangler-blm-reid-pickup.html.csp

[struggle4progress]

1. BLM Agent Threatened On Interstate in Southern Utah

... The suspects were driving a dark blue Dodge truck, and the license plate was covered with duct tape ...

http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_11129.shtml

[defacto7]

2. So, did the strategy with Bundy work?

Did that Sheriff negotiate a reasonable outcome with public safety in mind?

As I have said before.. No. It was and will continue to be a disastrous move by the Federal government to have allowed this to go on and to have let a local Sheriff handle the negotiations.

And here we are. The United States of America vs. The Cowboy Gun Brigade of Stupidity.

[struggle4progress]

6. Nobody's dead yet. Had there been a gunfight at Bunkerville, casualties would have been likely then

And had that happened, there's simply have no way of knowing what the crazies would be planning today, since crazy folk are hard to predict: crazy Tim McVeigh thought incidents in 1992 Idaho and 1993 Texas justified his mass murder in Oklahoma a few years later

We just do our best with what life hands us, trying to make as few permanent mistakes as possible along the way

[defacto7]

8. Good point.

I just wish people were.... better.

[fasttense]

15. So it seems the crazier you are the more likely the government will let you be?

A new bumper sticker to warn off the government. "Don't mess with me I haven't taken my meds today."

[atreides1]

17. So we just let it go and do nothing?

How long is that going to work before a militia type actually guns down someone?

[struggle4progress]

30. Sheriff: FBI is investigating law enforcement threats in Bundy showdown

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014800079

[Warpy]

10. It would have been another rout that they were afraid would draw another bunch of gun happy nuts

to show up for a brand, new range war.

With this spreading now I don't think the Feds are going to have much of a choice.

I do think they're going to wait for hot weather to roll in. That's going to take a lot of the fight out of those swaggering lunatics.

[2pooped2pop]

13. well in defense of the federal govt.

they probably were called off by their Koch overlords.

[joshcryer]

3. Where's Putin when you need him?

[951-Riverside]

7. Right here secretly funding the militia movement?

[freshwest]

29. Same methods being employed and they do have philosophical similarities. Getting a jump on people in

rural areas, threatening them with death or great bodily harm, well-armed, wearing masks, refusing to be identified in any way.

[Warpy]

11. Pulling back because it dawned on him

that he's bitten off more than he can chew and that he's started a civil war he has no idea how to finish. Undoubtedly he thinks he can wait it all out and then swoop in like a saviour.

[lib87]

4. White on White crime?

Sorry, I couldn't help it.

They need to catch these thugs quickly before they follow through with their threats.

[onehandle]

5. Domestic terrorism is the core of gun culture. nt

[sakabatou]

9. I fear the whole Bundy thing may end ugly

[nikto]

12. Hard to say if it's OK or not because of the hoods they wore

If they were white, then it's OK.

But how do we know for sure?

[2pooped2pop]

14. If the sign was mispelled

then we can be pretty sure it's white fundy teabagger types who like to play army.

[nikto]

22. Bingo!

We have a winna'.

[elias49]

16. ...and yet, a woman threw a soccer shoe at Hillary Clinton

and I haven't heard a thng about her in 2 weeks. When is law enforcement going to do something about these renegades? There is a very bad precedent being set here. You brandish a gun at a Federal employee (or anyone!) you should have a day in court. There's no 'stand your ground' law in Nevada.
Screw this crap!

[csziggy]

18. "There's no 'stand your ground' law in Nevada." But there is a US goverment RIGHT

Stated in the Nevada Constitution:
To "employ armed force in compelling obedience to its Authority."

ARTICLE.?1. - Declaration of Rights.
Sec:?2.??Purpose of government; paramount allegiance to United States.??
All political power is inherent in the people[.] Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But the Paramount Allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers as the same have been or may be defined by the Supreme Court of the United States; and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith or perform any act tending to impair[,] subvert, or resist the Supreme Authority of the government of the United States. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and Perpetuate its existance [existence], and whensoever any portion of the States, or people thereof attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the Execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its Authority.
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/const/nvconst.html#Art1Sec2

Emphasis added by me.

The current situation was in Utah. It's constitution says:

Article I, Section 3. [Utah inseparable from the Union.]

The State of Utah is an inseparable part of the Federal Union and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.
http://le.utah.gov/code/const/htm/00I01_000300.htm

While that statement is not as strong as the Nevada constitution, it still holds the Federal government to be the controlling power.

[struggle4progress]

19. Threat alleged by fed worker

By The Associated Press
Published: Thursday, May 8, 2014, 9:39 p.m.
Updated less than a minute ago

... An investigation is underway, but there are no suspects. The BLM officer wasn't able to get the license plate number because it was covered by what appeared to be duct tape, Crandall said.

Highway troopers searched the area for the truck, and the agency has put out an alert statewide for the truck, but Houskeeper said it will be difficult to find the men since there could be thousands of trucks that fit the description.

This is the first incident of this type in recent years, Crandall and Houskeeper said. But it comes during a time of high tension between some Western residents and the Bureau of Land Management ...

http://triblive.com/usworld/nation/6083545-74/blm-utah-federal

[struggle4progress]

20. BLM: Threats against employees won’t be tolerated

BLM: Threats against employees won’t be tolerated
By Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 5 hours ago • Updated 2 hours ago

Two days after a government employee was threatened at gunpoint, federal land managers say they will not tolerate violence against employees.

"Threats against Bureau of Land Management employees will not be tolerated, and we are pursuing this matter with local law enforcement," the BLM wrote in a statement issued Thursday.

A BLM wrangler was driving a trailer of horses and burros Tuesday on Interstate 15 in Juab County when two men in a dark blue Dodge 1500 extended-cab pickup pulled up alongside the wrangler, held up a sign that read, "You need to die," and pointed a handgun at him ...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57920443-78/blm-employees-federal-law.html.csp

[Bigmack]

21. I heard a rumor...

... well, actually I want to start one.

I heard the BLM was gonna tow stock trailers around filled with armed agents, and if somebody pulls up alongside the BLM truck and threatens them, the agents in the trailer are gonna open up with everything they've got.... a broadside.

Well..that's what I heard, anyway.

[Crepuscular]

23. While it's certainly possible

that the individuals involved were militia nutjobs, it's probably more likely that their ire at the BLM is linked to the Federal government rounding up wild horses in Utah and selling them at auction for slaughter. Since the BLM wrangler was driving a load of horses and burro's in a government marked vehicle, it's pretty likely that the aggression shown towards that employee was based on animal rights sentiments by those who object to reduction in wild horse numbers on Federal Lands. Sometimes it's good to remember that nutjobs come in a variety of flavors.

[Paladin]

24. Sounds like wishful thinking on your part. (nt)

[Crepuscular]

25. Wishful thinking?

Sounds like you like to make unsubstantiated accusations.

A lot of people are upset about the BLM rounding up wild horses in Utah and selling them for slaughter and it's been in the news recently. Which group do you think would be more likely to confront a BLM employee transporting a trailer full of horses and burros in Utah, those who are upset with the Federal policy of rounding up wild horses and selling them for slaughter (who it would be reasonable to assume are concerned with animal rights) or a bunch of nutjob militia members who are engaged in a circle jerk in Nevada? Occams razor and all that.

[Paladin]

26. Substantiate your claims of gun-toting, terroristic animal rights people.

Go ahead, make a believer out of me.


P.S.: Occam wants his razor back.

[2naSalit]

27. +1

[Crepuscular]

28. Believe what you want

Ranchers like Bundy usually support the BLM's effort to remove wild horses from Federal lands, in fact they are the driving force behind that program. While those types of idiots can certainly be illogical and it's certainly possible that the individuals in this case were militia members or some other type of whack job (a possibility I mentioned in my OP) it makes no sense that they would be objecting to the BLM's actions in this particular instance, that is the transportation of horses and burro's that most likely were wild ones removed from Federal BLM lands in Utah. So that begs the question, who is objecting to that procedure taking place and who would be the most likely to confront the BLM over it occurring?

Logic dictates that it would be somebody upset about the capture, removal and slaughter of wild horses, which is going on currently in Utah. Unless you believe that the presence of a trailer full of horses had nothing to do with the confrontation and that it was simply antipathy directed towards the BLM. That's certainly a possibility but it's equally possible that the horses played a relevant role in why the anger was directed towards that particular Federal employee.

Again, you can believe whatever you want, I'll keep an open mind and not exclude any possible sources for the angst displayed. FWIW, I'm not a supporter of the removal of wild horses unless there is documented damage to the ecosystem that is unpreventable by any other method. I'd rather see wild horses grazing on federal lands than allowing it to be used for private grazing rights.

[yellowcanine]

34. I think it is silly to argue about what might be the motivation. Either is certainly plausible.

Point is, BLM is a federal agency and people should not be making them targets for threats regardless of what the motivations are. The Bundy fiasco likely has emboldened all kinds of bad actors. Hopefully the reports of an FBI investigation are true and people who threatened federal and local officers at the Bundy ranch will be successfully prosecuted. Otherwise the lawlessness is only going to escalate.

[yellowcanine]

35. "I'm not a supporter of the removal of wild horses unless there is documented damage..."

Yeah, well that is what the law actually says. Of course different groups differ on whether or not the horses are damaging the ecosystem. Easier said than done, unfortunately.

http://wildhorsepreservation.org/wild-horses-and-ecosystem

[JJMacNab]

31. Cliven Bundy's son had run in with Park Service 20 years ago

Part 4 of my series on the Bundy Standoff is up. This one has some details about the family's criminal records.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2014/05/09/context-matters-the-cliven-bundy-standoff-part-4/

[struggle4progress]

32. Thanks. Those are interesting articles

[Sunlei]

33. Utah is trying to take away all OUR public lands- the BLM manages for our Federal gov.

They don't like our DOI/BLM land managers much in that state.