Not punishing the Bundys for the Nevada standoff led to the occupation in Oregon

[CanonRay]

It has become a familiar scene: a cluster of armed “patriots” gathered at a rural locale in the West, protesting federal land-use policies and disputing the legitimacy of the government back in Washington, while nearby, law enforcement officers act stunned into submission.

snip

Ever since their April 2014 standoff, Bundy and his associated “patriots” in such movements as the far-right Oath Keepers have been attempting to force further armed showdowns over Western land policies. Last spring, they tried to organize a confrontation with BLM officials in southwestern Oregon over mining rights, but that effort eventually fizzled out. Another attempted showdown in Montana with the U.S. Forest Service, also over mining rights, wound up being overshadowed by the massive forest fires that hit the state this summer.

None of that should have been possible: There should have been a number of arrests after the nonsense at the Bundy ranch. That there were none not only emboldened these right-wing radicals — and encouraged them to believe that their bizarre misinterpretation of the Constitution has some legitimacy — but, in the case of the Bundy brothers, directly empowered them to carry on as they did before.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/07/not-punishing-the-bundys-for-the-nevada-standoff-led-to-the-occupation-in-oregon/

[dgibby]

1. Agreed.

This is somewhat analogous to what happened when Ford pardoned Nixon. That gave rise to Dubya, Dick, Donald, etc. Pres. Obama made the same mistake with these war criminals by not prosecuting them.

Anytime crime go unpunished, it gives rise to more and more brazen acts of defiance. I realize that the Feds don't want a repeat of Ruby Ridge or Waco, but no action to resolve these issues lead to more issues.

For the life of me, I can't understand why the Bundys and their ilk are allowed to come and go at will. Allowing them freedom to travel off the refuge, not cutting power, water, and heat to the building being occupied defies logic, IMO. Maybe it's 11th dimensional chess, but I don't get it.