After the FBI ended the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon February 11, investigators found more than 30 guns, 16,636 live rounds, and about 1,700 spent casings. Yet last week a jury found the seven people who had been dressed as cowboys and soldiers not guilty of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs.
It is likely that these domestic terrorists getting off scot-free will embolden others who believe the federal government has no authority to manage lands outside of Washington, DC.
Which national park, forest, or BLM area will be the next to be taken over by seditionists with assault rifles? The original invasion of the federal refuge, the trashing of the facility, the threats to employees and their families, and the acquittal of the criminals is redefining how security is implemented at many federal properties.
Below is an excerpt from an article by Christopher Ketcham in the New York Times in which he interviewed Carolyn Shelton, recently retired after 15 years in a high-level management position at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah:
…B.L.M. employees who had worked for her “are angry, they are fearful, they are confused,” she said, and added, “Dealing with this toxic environment of animosity is a huge distraction from what we should be doing in public service, which is taking care of the land.”…
Before Ms. Shelton retired last August, security was significantly expanded at monument facilities to guard against attacks on employees and buildings, including installing panic buttons, dual-authentication door locks and, in some buildings, bulletproof glass.
She told me the Utah office of the B.L.M. went so far as to hire a former military terrorism expert, who advised that in the event of “security threats” — which are constant — B.L.M. employees should not go out in the field, wear B.L.M. uniforms or drive B.L.M.-marked vehicles.
“It’s gotten to the point that we do active shooter drills,” Ms. Shelton said. “It’s insane trying to do your job in this environment. It’s all money and time spent not protecting the resources. All we want is to do the job the American public has entrusted us with.”…
And from the High Country News:
Imagine running a business — say a bank or gas station — and every now and then a band of disgruntled customers barges in with guns, takes over your office and spouts nonsense about how you have no right to exist in the first place. How could you continue to conduct your business? How could you recruit new employees? How could you ensure the safety of your customers?
That is exactly the kinds of questions that leaders of our land management agencies — the folks who take care of our national parks, forests and wildlife refuges — now must face…
Now, 10 months later, an Oregon jury has acquitted them. By choosing the more difficult path of proving conspiracy rather than criminal trespass or some lesser charge, the government lawyers aimed too high and lost it all. The verdicts stunned even the defense attorneys who have no option of appealing.
Without second-guessing the jury, it’s clear that the repercussions of this case will play out for years to come. But I fear that the greatest and most lasting damage caused by the thugs who took over Malheur will prove to be the way they vandalized something essential to every functioning society: Trust. If America doesn’t get its act together, this verdict may prove to be the beginning of the end of one of our greatest experiments in democracy: our public lands…
Consider the words of elation uttered by those who supported the Bundys. Montana state Rep. Theresa Manzella, R-Darby, responded to the news with a Facebook post that read: “BEST NEWS IN A LONG TIME!!! Doin’ a happy dance! Didn’t expect the verdict today!!! Hurray!”
She elaborated to a newspaper reporter: “I think it will be very empowering. It indicates that American citizens are waking up and we don’t want to be kept under the thumb of the federal government.”
LaVoy Finicum is dead. I think rational members of the public are going to think twice about trying to occupy a federal building based on that alone. The criminal prosecution cost the defendants a ton. The fact that they were found not guilty does not change the fact that they paid a big big price for their actions. It seems likely those defendants and their peers got the message: Do not try to take over or occupy federal buildings.
Rationality never bought a ticket to this circus. The aquitted are heroes to many Americans. Their defense fees are being paid by supporters. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are also heroes to many Americans. I’m afraid we’ll look back on the Malhuer occupation in a year and say, “At least no innocent civilians were killed”.
Why can’t the US Attorney go back and charge these individuals with the simple crimes of weapons violations, breaking and entering, and all the other crimes committed? Double jeopardy should only apply to the conspiracy charge. The individual crimes should have been prosecuted and the conspiracy charge tacked on for good measure. Also, the outcome of this case shouldn’t preclude coming down hard (and correctly) on the perpetrators of the next incident.
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.
We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world; and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding twelve men every day who don’t know anything and can’t read.
Mark Twain- 4th of July speech 1873