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| -Land of the Free |
| Bundy ranch supporter pleads guilty in threat case |
| 2015-05-01 |
| The federal government pushes back An out-of-state supporter of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Pennsylvania to making threats against a Bureau of Land Management enforcement official during Bundy’s 2014 standoff against federal officials over land grazing rights. Some Bundy supporters, as well as Bundy himself, wonder whether this is the first in a series of legal moves the federal government might take against the recalcitrant rancher, whose so-called citizen militia challenged BLM officials in an armed face-off last April. Wonder no more. It has begun... Will Michael, 24, pleaded guilty this week to threatening a federal law enforcement official as well as making interstate communication threats. A profanity-laced phone message left for Mike Roop, the chief BLM ranger for Washington and Oregon, claimed, "We’re going to kill you," according to federal court documents. Officials say it was one of 500 threatening messages that Roop received. Michael did not travel to southern Nevada to join hundreds of Bundy supporters – many armed with semiautomatic weapons – who converged on federal land after agents swooped in to seize Bundy's cattle. For decades Bundy has refused to pay government grazing fees because he does not recognize Washington's right to collect money on Nevada land. LA Times leaves out snipers working in the area for the government, with guns trained on unarmed individuals. Michael told authorities that he saw a video on social media showing Roop shoving aside Bundy’s sister, who was blocking BLM vehicles in the cattle raid, officials said. Michael will be sentenced in July. "Part of the allegations were that the guy released personal information on Roop," Jody Weil, a BLM spokeswoman in Oregon, told the Los Angeles Times. Officials say Roop's personal and work contact information were posted online. Roop should quit. If he can't handle personal information posted on line -- something federal officials would not hesitate to do to intimidate "suspects" -- he has no business in government. |
| Posted by:badanov |