By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
According to a number of disparate and unofficial sources, leaders of the Oathkeepers who claimed to have been at the Bundy ranch in Nevada at the earlier stages of the confrontation with the federal government have been forced to leave the ranch.
Rumors in the form of Youtube videos posted since last Sunday seem to indicate that what may have been a spurious indication of a proposed government drone strike at the Bundy ranch, and the reaction to the news by Oathkeepers leadership, was what drove the banning of Oathkeepers from the Bundy ranch.
Since a week ago a video of a radio interview of militia members from Arizona who had traveled to Nevada say that what they witnessed was massed confusion as to security and logistics in the area of operation where militia members and Oathkeepers had been deployed. According to this video, the unidentified members of the Arizona militia had themselves actually infiltrated into the security zone of the ranch before the weekend of April 24th without being challenged.
Also included in the video was the accusation that Oathkeepers at the ranch did not suffer the same privations as militia members and others, and the allegation that the Oathkeepers had misallocated resources. The accusations survive more than ten days later, just four days after a "war council" of militiamen voted to remove Oathkeepers from the Bundy Ranch.
According to a video released by Oathkeepers, Oathkeepers at the Bundy Ranch received word that United States attorney general Eric Holder had authorized a drone strike on the Bundy ranch, presumably as a means of ending the presence of militia. According to the leader, Stewart Rhodes, a Yale educated attorney, he had sought confirmation of the provenance of the rumor, requesting help from a Texas based former military intelligence officer to check out the last source as well as the original source.
According to the video, the rumor was said to have come from an individual of some credibility, and that the source of the rumor was not disclosed, except that it originated from someone inside the US Department of Defense. Other videos said that the same rumor had been transmitted to other sources, such as the office of the governor of the state of Nevada.
Rhodes concluded that the rumor was true and started to remove Oathkeepers under his command, deploying them to a new area, while at the same time sending out scouts and patrols, something the Oathkeepers probably should have done from Day One at the ranch. That fact was likely a factor in having Oathkeepers removed from the ranch, since it is obvious that the Oathkeepers had been driven by events and, despite their repeated protests of military experience, had failed to secure a perimeter.
Also, Rhodes decided to publicly announce the rumor in the media. Both actions enraged militia leadership, and apparently at least two physical fights had taken place as well as two near shootouts and one near ambush of a local police convoy. Additionally Oathkeepers accused militia members of stealing electronics including two thermal binoculars and an iPad.
Militia members have accused Oathkeepers of various improprieties, while Oathkeeper supporters have accused at east two militia members of being agents provocateur.
In the video of the "war council", recorded sometime on or just before April 28th, the young leader of the group has been identified as a member of the West Mountain Rangers militia named Ryan Payne. The other individual with a goatee was partially identified as a militia member from Connecticut who has been associated with the radio personality Glenn Beck.
The accusation of being an agent provocateur tracks somewhat since Glenn Beck publicly announced he would no longer support Cliven Bundy after Bundy made his remarks on his views on race and government.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com