Cliven Bundy: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
| alt = |
| alt = |
||
| caption = Bundy in 2014 |
| caption = Bundy in 2014 |
||
| birth_name = |
| birth_name = |
||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|04|29}}<ref>{{cite news|last=|first=|title=Range War: Timeline of Events|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/range-war-timeline-events|accessdate=February 12, 2016|newspaper=The Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=April 21, 2014}}</ref> |
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|04|29}}<ref>{{cite news|last=|first=|title=Range War: Timeline of Events|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/range-war-timeline-events|accessdate=February 12, 2016|newspaper=The Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=April 21, 2014}}</ref> |
||
| birth_place = [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], United States |
| birth_place = [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], United States |
||
| death_date = |
| death_date = |
||
| death_place = |
| death_place = |
||
| death_cause = |
|||
| nationality = American |
| nationality = American |
||
| other_names = |
| other_names = |
Revision as of 12:53, 27 March 2016
Cliven Bundy | |
---|---|
![]() Bundy in 2014 | |
Born | [1] Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | April 29, 1946
Nationality | American |
Known for | Bundy standoff |
Children | 14, including: Ammon Bundy Ryan Bundy Cliven Lance Bundy |
Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher from Bunkerville, Nevada.[4] He vocally advocates a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government overreach. He is well-known for instigating an armed standoff in Nevada with federal and state law enforcement over grazing rights. Some view him as a hero for leading a movement of ranchers and other disaffected populations to avoid paying for use of public land,[5][6] while others consider him dangerously provocative. He is the father of Ammon Bundy, who in 2016 initiated an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
Bundy participates and has links with various related movements, including anti-government activism (which opposes federal government involvement in favor of state and local control, or even no government) and the sovereign citizen movement (members of whom hold that governments have no jurisdiction over themselves).
Bundy generated considerable controversy after remarks suggesting that African Americans might have been better off under slavery.[5][6]
On February 10, 2016, Cliven Bundy was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at the Portland International Airport while he was on his way to support the Malheur occupation. He faces federal charges related to his own standoff with the Bureau of Land Management in 2014.[7]
Early life
Bundy was born on April 29, 1946, in Las Vegas.[8]
Worldview
Bundy advocates for limited federal government involvement in local affairs, particularly in ranching.
Bundy supports the ideas of the sovereign citizen movement. Many of the adherents of the movement argue that the federal government is illegitimate and does not have jurisdiction over individuals, meaning that laws do not apply to them.[9] Bundy has asked for the support of members of the Oath Keepers, the White Mountain Militia, and the Praetorian Guard.[9]
Cliven Bundy has said he does not recognize federal police power over land that he believes belongs to the "sovereign state of Nevada."[10][11] Bundy also denied the jurisdiction of the federal court system over Nevada land and filed an unsuccessful motion to dismiss the Bureau of Land Management case against him by claiming the federal courts have no jurisdiction because he is a "citizen of Nevada, not the territory of Nevada".[11] Bundy also believes that federally owned land in Nevada actually belongs to the state.[12][13] According to The Guardian, Bundy told his supporters that "We definitely don't recognize [the BLM director's] jurisdiction or authority, his arresting power or policing power in any way," and in interviews he used the language of the sovereign citizen movement, thereby gaining the support of members of the Oath Keepers, the White Mountain Militia and the Praetorian Guard militias.[14] The movement is considered by the FBI as a major domestic terrorism threat.[15][16]
J. J. MacNab, who writes for Forbes about anti-government extremism, described Bundy’s views as inspired by the sovereign citizen movement, whose adherents claim that the county sheriff is the most powerful law-enforcement officer in the country, with authority superior to that of any federal agent, local law-enforcement agency or any other elected official.[17] On April 12, 2014, Bundy "ordered" Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie to confront the federal agents, disarm them and deliver their arms to Bundy within an hour of his demand, and later expressed disappointment that Gillespie did not comply.[17][18][19]
The Southern Poverty Law Center has described Bundy's views as closely aligned with those of the Posse Comitatus organization, and it has also asserted that such self-described "patriot" groups were focused on secession, nullification, and the principles of the Tenther movement.[20][21]
In May 2014, Bundy changed his party affiliation from the Republican Party to the Independent American Party.[22]
Religion
Bundy is Mormon. He attributes the outcome of the standoff to divine intervention.[23]
Standoff
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/BLM_Trespass_Cattle_Closure_Map_04_11_2014.png/220px-BLM_Trespass_Cattle_Closure_Map_04_11_2014.png)
The Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between protesters and law enforcement that developed from a 20-year legal dispute between the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Cliven Bundy over unpaid grazing fees on federally owned land in southeastern Nevada.
The ongoing dispute started in 1993, when, in protest against changes to grazing rules, Bundy declined to renew his permit for cattle grazing on BLM-administered lands near Bunkerville, Nevada. According to the BLM, Bundy continued to graze his cattle on public lands without a permit. In 1998, Bundy was prohibited by the United States District Court for the District of Nevada from grazing his cattle on an area of land later called the Bunkerville Allotment. In July 2013, U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George ordered that Bundy refrain from trespassing on federally administered land in the Gold Butte area of Clark County.
On March 27, 2014, 145,604 acres of federal land in Clark County were temporarily closed for the "capture, impound, and removal of trespass cattle". BLM officials and law enforcement rangers began a roundup of such livestock on April 5, and an arrest was made the next day. On April 12, a group of protesters, some of them armed, advanced on what the BLM described as a "cattle gather." Sheriff Doug Gillespie negotiated with Bundy and newly confirmed BLM director Neil Kornze, who elected to release the cattle and de-escalate the situation. As of the end of 2015, Bundy continued to graze his cattle on Federal land and had not paid the fees.
Personal life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Cliven_%26_Ammon_Bundy_%2814742520503%29.jpg/220px-Cliven_%26_Ammon_Bundy_%2814742520503%29.jpg)
Bundy says he is a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims,[23] of which there are at least 35 million, worldwide.[24] Bundy lives in the family home he built with his father.[23] He is Mormon,[4] and presides over a large family, with 14 adult children[4] and 60 grandchildren.[23] His children include Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy, two of the leaders of the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.[2] In February 2015, another son, Cliven Lance Bundy, was handed a two-to-eight year prison sentence following his conviction on burglary and firearms charges.[25]
In a 2015 biography, The Guardian reported that Cliven Bundy did not carry a weapon out of concern it would make him an assassination target. The Guardian also reported that Bundy is protected by an armed body guard who claims he has 100 "heavy operators" in the region ready to protect Bundy if called upon.[23]
Racial comments
About a week after the climax of the standoff, on April 19, 2014, Bundy spoke about witnessing a civil disturbance, the 1965 Watts riots.[26] Bundy described his views about unhappiness at that time and criticized what he saw as government interference and its influence on African Americans. He recalled later seeing a public housing project in North Las Vegas where some of the older residents and the children sat on the porch. He said:
They didn't have nothing to do ... they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn't get no more freedom. They got less freedom.[5][6]
In reference to Mexican people, he said:
They come over here against our Constitution and cross our borders, but they're here, and they're people ... Don't tell me they don't work, and don't tell me they don't pay taxes. And don't tell me they don't have better family structures than most of us white people.[26]
A year later Bundy called the reaction to his statements a "misunderstanding," saying he was not racist and that he should not have used the term "Negro." He added: "I’ve never had a black person or a brown person ever say anything bad about me." He then proceeded to make further statements about race, comparing "welfare and housing" to slavery. He expressed support for Blacks who have "raised themselves up to a point where they are equal with the rest of us." As an alternative to government jobs and programs, he touted private-sector work. "We don’t need leeches feeding off us and eating off of us," he said. "We need producers."[23]
Response by public officials
Ranking Democratic Senator Harry Reid condemned the Bundy statement and said Bundy had "revealed himself to be a hateful racist. But by denigrating people who work hard and play by the rules while he mooches off public land he also revealed himself to be a hypocrite... It is the height of irresponsibility for any individual or entity in a position of power or influence to glorify or romanticize such a dangerous individual... For their part, national Republican leaders could help show a united front against this kind of hateful, dangerous extremism by publicly condemning Bundy."[27][28]
A number of Republican politicians and talk-show hosts who previously had supported Bundy, forcefully condemned his remarks as racist,[29][30] including junior NV Senator Dean Heller, who previously had described Bundy defenders as "patriots”, and Senator Rand Paul.[30][31] On April 23, Heller said through a spokesperson that he "completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way".[5] On April 23, Bundy defended his comments by saying "the statement was right".[32]
Response by the media
Sean Hannity, who had supported Bundy in his Fox News talk show, had interviewed Bundy several times,[33][34] and had called him "a friend and frequent guest of the show",[35] later said that Bundy's remarks were "beyond repugnant". Glenn Beck criticized Bundy's comments, saying that the rancher is "unhinged from reality" and urged his supporters to "end your relationship" with him.[36][37]
Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Patt Morrison saw the incident as one of many where an ordinary person is "turned into the poster boy or the poster girl of some political battle du jour."[38] Morrison wrote, "It happens so often that Las Vegas may have a betting line, not on whether these folks will implode but when. The Cliven Bundys of American politics, bit players who are suddenly promoted to center stage, are never as good as their adherents want them to be. They are not empty vessels, but they are flawed ones."[38]
Ben Swann questioned whether Bundy's "inarticulate" comments were given a "truthful representation", and published a video segment which includes the comments preceding and following the quotation published by Adam Nagourney of The New York Times.[26][5] Joseph Curl, writing for The Washington Times, described Bundy's views as incorrect and noted that the New York Times failed to print an entire transcript of the remarks.[39]
Other
According to Geoffrey Lawrence, deputy policy director at the Nevada Policy Research Institute, Bundy lost his personal credibility with his racist remarks. Lawrence argues that the discussion about federal land use in the West should not be abandoned, and that Congress should act to correct the "harsh and unfair federal misuse of state lands".[40]
2016 arrest and prosecution
Bundy was arrested at Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon on February 10, 2016, while attempting to travel to Burns, Oregon to support militants at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Bundy was booked into the downtown Multnomah County jail.[41]
In a 32-page criminal complaint, federal prosecutors charged Bundy with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, one count of assault on a federal officer by use of a deadly weapon and aiding and abetting, two counts of use and carrying of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting, one count of interfering with commerce by extortion and aiding and abetting, and one count of obstruction of the administration of justice and aiding and abetting.[42][43][44][45]
Bundy made his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland on February 11. He sought court-appointed counsel.[46] At a detention hearing on February 16, Stewart ordered Bundy to be held without bail, citing the serious nature of the charges and the risk of flight.[47][48] A preliminary hearing was held on March 4 in Las Vegas.[49]
On March 10, Bundy refused to enter a plea to the charges against him, as well as recognize federal authority in the courtroom. U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl Hoffman subsequently entered a plea of not guilty for Bundy and scheduled his detention hearing on March 17.[50]
References
- ^ "Range War: Timeline of Events". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 21, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ^ a b Siemaszko, Corky (January 4, 2016). "Meet Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the Activists Leading the Oregon Standoff". NBC News. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Sepulvado, John (January 3, 2016). "Explainer: The Bundy Militia's Particular Brand Of Mormonism". OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting). Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Who Is Cliven Bundy and Why Is He So Controversial? - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
- ^ a b c d e Nagourney, Adam (April 23, 2014). "A Defiant Rancher Savors the Audience That Rallied to His Side". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Rebellious Nevada rancher's slavery remarks dim Republican support". Reuters. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Zaitz, Les (February 10, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland". Oregon Live. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ "Bundy's Federal Feud: Timeline of Events". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Langdon, Joseph; Hernandez, Daniel (April 13, 2014). "Federal rangers face off against armed protesters in Nevada range war". The Guardian. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ Strasser, Max. "For Militiamen, the Fight for Cliven Bundy's Ranch Is Far From Over". Newsweek. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ a b "A rancher's armed battle against the US government is standard libertarian fare". The Guardian. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy: "The citizens of America" got my cattle back". CBS / Associated Press. April 27, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ Bundy doesn’t understand Constitution, Ian Bartrum, Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 27, 2014
- ^ Henandez, Daniel (April 3, 2014). "Federal rangers face off against armed protesters in Nevada 'range war'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- ^ "Examining the Sovereign Citizen Movement in the Obama Era". Politics & Policy. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- ^ "Sovereign Citizens: A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement". FBI. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- ^ a b MacNab, JJ. "Context Matters: The Cliven Bundy Standoff -- Part 3". Forbes. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ "Political cause growing in Bundy's dispute with BLM". KLAS-TV Las Vegas. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (April 14, 2014). "American Militias Emboldened by Victory at Bundy Ranch". Vocativ. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ "Bundy saga reveals the risk of cozying up to extremists". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
The SPLC puts 'patriot' groups in a separate category from white supremacists and others organized around hate. The patriot groups make a constitutional argument to justify antipathy toward the federal government; this can be seen in the noise about secession, nullification, 'state sovereignty' and the primacy of the 10th Amendment.
- ^ "Antigovernment 'Patriots' Gather Near Scene of Nevada Rancher's Dispute Over Cattle Grazing Rights". SPL. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy drops Republican affiliation". Associated Press. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "A year after armed standoff, Cliven Bundy still star of his own Tea Party-tinged western | US news". The Guardian. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
- ^ Faber, Jim (28 September 2009). "Mayflower Descendants". Family Tree Magazine.
- ^ Ferraralas, David (2015-02-04). "Cliven Bundy's son sent to prison on burglary, gun charges | Las Vegas Review-Journal". Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
- ^ a b c Swann, Ben (April 25, 2014). "Truth in Media: Cliven Bundy's "Racist" Remarks Were Also Promoting Hispanic Culture? What MSM Isn't Telling You". Ben Swann. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
{{cite web}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; April 26, 2014 suggested (help) - ^ "U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid >> Reid Calls For Leaders To Unite In Condemnation Of Cliven Bundy's Dangerous Extremism".
- ^ Burr, Thomas (April 24, 2014). "Utah's Bishop calls Bundy's race comments 'degrading'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Glionna, John M. (April 24, 2014). "Cliven Bundy's 'better off as slaves' remark about blacks draws fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ a b "Republicans denounce rancher Cliven Bundy's racist comments". CBS News. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy, Rancher At Center of Feud With Feds, Condemned for Racist Remarks". ABC News. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Abdullah, Halimah (April 24, 2014). "Cliven Bundy: Another conservative folk hero exposes racial nerve". CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy takes on the Nevada ranch rhetoric". Fox News Channel. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Sean Hannity: 'Our government is simply out of control'". Fox News Channel. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy, the Wild West hero. Or not". CNN.
- ^ "Glenn Beck: Cliven Bundy 'unhinged'". POLITICO. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Hannity: Bundy remarks 'beyond repugnant'". POLITICO. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ a b Morrison, Patt (May 3, 2014). "How not to pick a hero: The Cliven Bundy story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ Joseph Curl (April 27, 2014). "CURL: Racism everywhere, Obama and Democrats agree". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy Is A Racist, But Federal Ownership Of State Land Is Still A Serious Problem". June 30, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
- ^ Zaitz, Les (February 10, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland". Oregon Live. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
- ^ United States v. Bundy, Complaint, Feb. 11, 2016, case no. 2:16-mj-00127-PAL, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (Las Vegas Div.).
- ^ "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy charged with assault, conspiracy". Fox News. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy booked in Multnomah County Jail". KGW.com. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
- ^ Graham, David A. (February 12, 2016). "Patience: The FBI's Strategy to End the Oregon Standoff and Nab Cliven Bundy". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ^ Bernstein, Maxine (February 11, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy seeks court-appointed lawyer". Oregon Live.
- ^ Duara, Nigel (February 16, 2016). "Cliven Bundy is denied bail over standoff at his Nevada ranch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- ^ "'Lawless and violent' Cliven Bundy held without bail". KOIN. February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy makes initial court appearance in Nevada". Oregon Live. Associated Press. March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
- ^ "Cliven Bundy refuses to enter plea, recognize US authority in Nevada courtroom". Oregon Live. Associated Press. March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.