Bundy justice: The price they paid
By Harold Pease
Some think that the Bundys got off scot-free when U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed cases against Cliven, sons Ammon and Ryan, and co-defendant Ryan Payne and accused their prosecutors — the government — of willfully withholding evidence from Bundy lawyers in violation of the federal Brady rule, thus denying them due process. She referred to it as “flagrant prosecutorial misconduct” and set the defendants free “with prejudice,” preventing the government from trying them again on this case.
Navarro was referring to some 3,300 pages of evidence showing, among other things, government surveillance of the Bundys on the ranch days before the standoff and FBI logs documenting their activity at the ranch in the days prior, both supporting the Bundys’ claim of self-defense. The government’s tactical teams and multiple video cameras positioned around the ranch certainly justify this argument. Also excluded were records showing the presence of government snipers during the standoff, necessitating that some few Bundy supporters took positions with their rifles aimed at the snipers should agents open on the Bundys.
So what price did the Bundys pay for defending the Constitution and freedom? Cliven Bundy certainly felt it high: “I have been a political prisoner for more than 700 days.” Let’s review the story of Bundy justice.
Ranchers throughout the West had been grazing their cattle on open land for centuries before the land was made territories in a process emanating from the Articles of Confederation preparatory for statehood when population requirements, defined by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, were met. Once met, land within a state boundary belonged to the new state. Under the Constitution, there exists no provision for federal land within state boundaries outside Article I, Section 8, and thus no federal Bureau of Land Management. This is the constitutional position, and the one the Bundys took. The federal government found it profitable to withhold 87.7 percent of Nevada from the state, and itsfederal courts justified this position. The Bundys did not and continued to graze their cattle where their forefathers had always grazed them without paying federal fees.
The BLM began to slaughter and bury Bundy cattle and confiscated hundreds more to sell to pay the federal fees. They also placed numerous FBI and BLM agents on Bundy property without their permission to watch family movements. Word got out, and hundreds arrived to aid the Bundys in keeping their cattle. Agents created First Amendment areas for those opposing their actions, and some few voicing it in non-designated areas were thrown to the ground, tased, and threatened with arrest. The alarm went out. The cattle were released when armed neighbors and friends, some from out of state, outnumbered agents.
Next, Ammon and Ryan Bundy assisted Oregonians in their land issues, the federal government claiming 52.6 percent of their land — in particular the Hammonds, who also suffered abuse by the BLM when a fire on their property accidentally burned adjacent BLM land. The Hammonds served time for the fire, then a year later were rearrested by federal agents when a federal judge concluded that they had not served enough time — double jeopardy. Bundy boys participated in the 40-day takeover of the then-vacant Malheur National Wildlife Refuge facility in protest.
While driving to Burns, Oregon to negotiate with agents with a view of mitigating the occupation, the truck driven by Lavoy Finicum was fired upon. Ryan was wounded in the arm, and Finicum exited the truck with his hands up and was shot three times in the back and killed. The three passengers endured almost five minutes of gunfire before they were allowed to exit, believing that agents also would kill them. A recording from inside the truck records occupants begging God to save them.
Eight months later in a Portland jail cell, Ryan was awakened at 5:30 a.m. and taken to a “secret” hearing in the basement with no time to contact his lawyer. On the way, he was beaten by three guards, suffering a dislocated wrist, a broken thumb, and a bruised and cut-open head. Presumably, the prosecution wanted the evidence of the bullet received while Ryan was approaching the FBI roadblock removed with no witnesses other than themselves so that they could contest that the vehicle being fired upon prior to the roadblock. According to Ryan’s wife, Angie, they would not allow pictures of the procedure, and no paperwork regarding the removal would be given to him. His refusal to agree to the “secret surgery” was the probable reason for the beating. On Oct. 27, 2016, the Bundy boys were acquitted of all charges with respect to the wildlife refuge facility occupation, but the killing of Finicum remains outstanding.
Finally, Bundy justice must include the cost of litigation, presumably thousands, and prison time already served for several of them of at least a year and a half. The separation from family and friends and the cost of motels, travel, and meals for the family to see their incarcerated husbands and fathers weighs in somewhere. And how does one put a number on the emotional price all participants paid until Jan. 8, thinking that family members and friends are more likely to be incarcerated the rest of their lives than not? I told Ryan that I am willing to write about freedom and the Constitution and even to suffer to some extent — but he was beaten and wounded and risked being locked up for decades for it.
