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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGroup of state lawmakers aided the armed Oregon refuge occupiers from the beginning
In April 2014, several Republican state lawmakers went to rural Nevada to support the armed standoff rancher Cliven Bundy had forced with the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and during the standoff, they formed a group, the Coalition of Western States, or COWS. When Bundy's son, Ammon Bundy, led a group of armed anti-government protesters to take over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge outside Burns, Oregon, in January, the COWS members knew his rough plans in advance, and they actively tried to help the occupation once it had begun, John Sepulvado reports at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
In one instance, Washington State lawmaker Matt Shea one of the COWS cofounders led a group of elected officials from four states to try to negotiate with the Harney County sheriff and FBI on behalf of the occupiers, first presenting themselves as interested in de-escalating the conflict but then trying to elicit tactical information from local and federal law enforcement officials, OPB says. Near the end of the meeting, Nevada Assemblywoman Michelle Fiore raised the stakes. "The BLM has become a bureaucratic agency of basically terrorism," she said over the phone. "So at what point do we band together as elected officials, and say, 'Enough is enough of the BLM?'"
After that Jan. 9 meeting, "COWS representatives visited the refuge, which was closed to the public," Sepulvado reports. "The lawmakers acknowledge they fed the militants information gathered from that meeting, and militant leaders talked openly about what they learned from those disclosures." In another case, COWS member Anthony Bosworth, a failed candidate for sheriff of Washington's Yakima County, traveled to occupied Malheur at Shea's request as a "security specialist," stayed on, and helped one of the occupation leaders escape. You can read more about the GOP lawmakers' goals and involvement at OPB, and listen to the radio report below.
http://theweek.com/speedreads/613271/group-state-lawmakers-aided-armed-oregon-refuge-occupiers-from-beginning
That's all there is save the radio report mentioned which unfortunately I can't listen to because my internet connection is crap.
So, when are these state goons rounded up for aiding and abetting?
And just a side note... I've never heard of "theweek.com" so I've no idea what sort of source they are. I just found the story following a link from Yahoo.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)Too bad everyone is busy arguing candidates to notice
Bush started the land grab by limiting the public's access to public lands. So now it is becoming part of the Tea Farty agenda
d_r
(6,907 posts)There is a great deal more information there.
TorchTheWitch
(11,065 posts)Took awhile to load, but I finally got there. Very interesting article. I'm soooo pissed off at this lunatic "COWS" people. How they got elected for anything boggles the mind. They're just as nuts as the Bundy clan.
KT2000
(20,572 posts)it is a roundup of news from several different publications. An article will quote about four publications on a topic so you can get an idea of the various takes on a subject.
The editor has short editorials of the Democratic persuasion.
TorchTheWitch
(11,065 posts)It looked ok, but having never seen it before I wasn't sure. These days it's not always so easy to tell at a glance. And it doesn't help that Yahoo can send you to some really off the wall websites.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)It was infuriating. Especially that one woman who almost aided in making the final standoff go very fucking bad.
Jim Beard
(2,535 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)When will we finally be adults and put an end to this madness?