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Cliven Bundy
Bundy in 2014
Born (1946-04-29) April 29, 1946 (age 78)[1]
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationRancher
Known forBundy standoff
Children14, including:
Ammon Bundy
Ryan Bundy
Cliven Lance Bundy
Melvin D. Bundy
David H. "Davey" Bundy

Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher from Bunkerville, Nevada who is currently Federally incarcerated and awaiting trial with bail denied for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff.[4] He vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government overreach. He is known for having instigated the 2014 Bundy Standoff in Nevada, an armed standoff with federal and state law enforcement over defaulted grazing fees. Some viewed him as a hero for having led a movement of ranchers to encourage more ranchers to join him in defaulting on their grazing fees as per their federal grazing contracts.[5][6] Some considered him to be dangerously provocative. He is the father of Ammon Bundy, who in 2016 also led another armed standoff against the government, the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Bundy participated in, and had 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 (which holds that people are answerable only to their particular interpretation of the common law and are not subject to any government statutes or proceedings).

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 Standoff. He is currently in federal custody, facing federal charges related to his own standoff with the Bureau of Land Management in 2014.[7] His trial is scheduled for 2017.

Early life

Bundy was born on April 29, 1946, in Las Vegas.[8]

Worldview

Bundy advocated for limited federal government involvement in local affairs, particularly in ranching.

Bundy supported 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 had 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 has 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 having been 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 a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He attributes the outcome of the standoff to divine intervention.[23]

Standoff

Main article: Bundy standoff
BLM Trespass Cattle Closure Map, Apr 11, 2014.

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 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

Cliven Bundy with his son Ammon in 2014

Bundy has said he was a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims.[23] Prior to his incarceration, Bundy lived in his family home which he built with his father.[23] He is Mormon,[4] and has a number of descendants, including 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 who are now also in Federal custody.[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.[24]

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 prior to his 2016 arrest, Bundy was protected by an armed body guard which he then claimed had 100 "heavy operators" in the Nevada area, ready to protect him 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.[25] 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:

I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro. When I go to Las Vegas, north Las Vegas, and I would see these little Government houses, and in front of that Government house the door was usually open, and the older people and the kids and there was always at least half a dozen people on the porch. They didn't have nothing to do, they didn't have nothing for the kids to do, they didn't have nothing for the young girls 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.[25]

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."[26][27]

A number of Republican politicians and talk-show hosts who previously had supported Bundy, forcefully condemned his remarks as racist,[28][29] including junior NV Senator Dean Heller, who previously had described Bundy defenders as "patriots”, and Senator Rand Paul.[29][30] 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".[31]

Response by the media

Sean Hannity, who had supported Bundy in his Fox News talk show, had interviewed Bundy several times,[32][33] and had called him "a friend and frequent guest of the show",[34] 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.[35][36]

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."[37] 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."[37]

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.[5][25] 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.[38]

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".[39]

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.[40]

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.[41][42][43][44]

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.[45] 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.[46][47] A preliminary hearing was held on March 4, 2016, at the Las Vegas federal courthouse.[48]

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.[49] His trial was initially scheduled for May 2, but it was postponed to February 6, 2017.[50] Two more of his sons, Melvin and David, were arrested on charges related to the Bundy standoff, along with 12 other men who were likewise involved.[51]

On March 10, 2016, Bundy also filed a lawsuit against Judge Gloria Navarro, Senator Harry Reid, Reid's son Rory, and President Barack Obama, alleging a number of conspiracy theories and describing the judge as a "Latino activist."[52][53] A day later, Bundy's lawyer attempted to serve the judge with the lawsuit during a detention hearing, demanding that she recuse herself from the proceedings because she was now involved in a legal conflict with Bundy. The motion was quickly denied, but the judge gave Bundy's lawyer until May 25 to make a case as to whether her previous work as a prosecutor in Clark County, Nevada merited any recusal.[54] On May 25, Judge Navarro denied Bundy's motion for her recusal from the case, and ruled that he would not be granted bail due to factors including:[55]

  • His history of ignoring federal laws and court orders.
  • The number of supporters willing to act as "armed bodyguards".
  • The chance that he would flee from arrest or fail to report for court appearances as ordered.
  • The potential for violence by his supporters, constituting a danger to the community.

Charlie Pierce, writing for Esquire, described Bundy's legal maneuvers as "a bubbling stew of pure crazy" sounding "like it was dialed in from someone's car to the worst talk-radio show on Planet Stupid"; while Amanda Marcotte of Salon described it as a nuisance lawsuit and an "incoherent scattershot of a lawsuit."[56][57]

On October 17, 2016, Bundy dismissed his lawsuit against Navarro, Obama, and the Reids.[58]

References

  1. ^ "Range War: Timeline of Events". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 21, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Siemaszko, Corky (January 4, 2016). "Meet Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the Activists Leading the Oregon Standoff". NBC News. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Sepulvado, John (January 3, 2016). "Explainer: The Bundy Militia's Particular Brand Of Mormonism". OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting). Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c "Rebellious Nevada rancher's slavery remarks dim Republican support". Reuters. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  7. ^ Zaitz, Les (February 10, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland". Oregon Live. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  8. ^ "Bundy's Federal Feud: Timeline of Events". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 27, 2016.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Strasser, Max. "For Militiamen, the Fight for Cliven Bundy's Ranch Is Far From Over". Newsweek. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "A rancher's armed battle against the US government is standard libertarian fare". The Guardian. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  12. ^ "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy: "The citizens of America" got my cattle back". CBS / Associated Press. April 27, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  13. ^ Bundy doesn’t understand Constitution, Ian Bartrum, Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 27, 2014
  14. ^ Henandez, Daniel (April 3, 2014). "Federal rangers face off against armed protesters in Nevada 'range war'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  15. ^ "Examining the Sovereign Citizen Movement in the Obama Era". Politics & Policy. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  16. ^ "Sovereign Citizens: A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement". FBI. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b MacNab, JJ. "Context Matters: The Cliven Bundy Standoff -- Part 3". Forbes. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (April 14, 2014). "American Militias Emboldened by Victory at Bundy Ranch". Vocativ. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ "Antigovernment 'Patriots' Gather Near Scene of Nevada Rancher's Dispute Over Cattle Grazing Rights". SPL. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  22. ^ "Cliven Bundy drops Republican affiliation". Associated Press. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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 26, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  26. ^ "U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid >> Reid Calls For Leaders To Unite In Condemnation Of Cliven Bundy's Dangerous Extremism".
  27. ^ Burr, Thomas (April 24, 2014). "Utah's Bishop calls Bundy's race comments 'degrading'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ a b "Republicans denounce rancher Cliven Bundy's racist comments". CBS News. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  30. ^ "Cliven Bundy, Rancher At Center of Feud With Feds, Condemned for Racist Remarks". ABC News. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  31. ^ Abdullah, Halimah (April 24, 2014). "Cliven Bundy: Another conservative folk hero exposes racial nerve". CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  32. ^ "Cliven Bundy takes on the Nevada ranch rhetoric". Fox News Channel. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  33. ^ "Sean Hannity: 'Our government is simply out of control'". Fox News Channel. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  34. ^ "Cliven Bundy, the Wild West hero. Or not". CNN.
  35. ^ "Glenn Beck: Cliven Bundy 'unhinged'". POLITICO. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  36. ^ "Hannity: Bundy remarks 'beyond repugnant'". POLITICO. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  37. ^ a b Morrison, Patt (May 3, 2014). "How not to pick a hero: The Cliven Bundy story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  38. ^ Joseph Curl (April 27, 2014). "CURL: Racism everywhere, Obama and Democrats agree". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  39. ^ "Cliven Bundy Is A Racist, But Federal Ownership Of State Land Is Still A Serious Problem". June 30, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  40. ^ Zaitz, Les (February 10, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland". Oregon Live. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  41. ^ 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.).
  42. ^ "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy charged with assault, conspiracy". Fox News. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  43. ^ "Cliven Bundy booked in Multnomah County Jail". KGW.com. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  44. ^ 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.
  45. ^ Bernstein, Maxine (February 11, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy seeks court-appointed lawyer". Oregon Live.
  46. ^ Duara, Nigel (February 16, 2016). "Cliven Bundy is denied bail over standoff at his Nevada ranch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  47. ^ "'Lawless and violent' Cliven Bundy held without bail". KOIN. February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  48. ^ "Cliven Bundy makes initial court appearance in Nevada". Oregon Live. Associated Press. March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  49. ^ "Cliven Bundy refuses to enter plea, recognize US authority in Nevada courtroom". Oregon Live. Associated Press. March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  50. ^ "Nevada trial for Cliven Bundy, 18 others set for 2017". Oregon Live. Associated Press. April 27, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  51. ^ Dobner, Jennifer (March 3, 2016). "Bundy family member arrested in Utah on federal warrant". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  52. ^ Ortiz, Erik. "Rancher Cliven Bundy Sues President Obama, Harry Reid Over 'Cruel' Treatment". NBC News. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  53. ^ Morlin, Bill. "Bundy Sues President Obama, Others, Alleging Federal Conspiracy to Steal Land". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  54. ^ "Cliven Bundy sues to have judge removed in Nevada standoff trial". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  55. ^ Heuer, Mike (May 25, 2016). "Freeing Cliven Bundy Too Risky, Judge Rules". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  56. ^ Pierce, Charles. "One Family's Government Paranoia Will Cost Taxpayers Millions of Dollars This Year". Esquire. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  57. ^ Marcotte, Amanda. "The Bundys won't go away: The family gears up for another battle — which means more embarrassment for conservatives". Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  58. ^ German, Jeff (October 17, 2016). "Lawyer in Bunkerville standoff case wants to block evidence gathered by undercover film crew". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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