Posted on 10/24/2003 2:30:40 PM PDT by farmfriend
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2003
FROM: DEMAR DAHL (775)741-4168
PRESIDENT OF THE SHOVEL BRIGADE
An advertisement was placed in the Elko Daily Free Press and on Elko radio stations last week in the name of the Shovel Brigade. The ad, which referred to some Forest Service employees as "armed and dangerous", was not taken to the Brigade Board for approval. On first review by the Board, it was felt that the ad may have gone a little over the line with reference to being "armed and dangerous". However, after considering all of the facts available to it, the Board concluded that for the Forest Service and the BLM, "armed and dangerous" may be an accurate description for some of their enforcement officers and activities. Here are a few of many examples of agency employees as "armed". How "dangerous" they may be is yet to be determined:
Example 1: In November 2001, at a sale of confiscated cattle in Palomino Valley, an observer, Ken Greenwell, a house builder from Fallon, Nevada, had a firearm in plain view in his pickup. A BLM gunman walked past and apparently thinking Ken was standing too close to his firearm drew his pistol and pointed it at Greenwell screaming for him to lay down on the ground. Ken and others who witnessed the incident said the gunman had his finger on the trigger, a wild look on his face, was visibly shaking, and definitely a dangerous look about him. The BLM gunman is C. J. Ross. The incident was caught by the camera of Jean Voigts and was first published in the Sparks Tribune.
Example 2: Whether one is sympathetic to the plight of the Dann sisters or not, everyone has to agree that they are well known as peace activists. While on their ranch and surrounded by their avowed non-violent peace activist friends, the sisters were confronted by the BLM with over 50 armed gunmen. They were there to confiscate their horses. The BLM established two command and control centers in a paramilitary operation that was as bizarre as it was frightening to think it was happening right here in the United States of America.
Example 3: When the BLM confiscated cattle on the Pine Creek Ranch belonging to Wayne Hage, the confiscation was handled by six BLM gunmen. According to the depositions taken before the trial that followed the confiscation, each gunman possessed the following firearms: 1 military type fully automatic rifle, 1 semi-automatic handgun, 1 revolver, and each gunman had ready access to a semi-automatic shotgun in a nearby vehicle. All of this firepower to go against Wayne Hage and a few of his helpers armed with one camera between them.
Example 4: An employee of the Maestri Ranch in Buena Vista Valley, while driving on a dirt road toward a windmill to pump stock water, was stopped by a BLM gunman with siren and flashing red lights. The gunman, Randy Reeder, with a pistol on his hip, had stopped the employee for no apparent reason except to ask his name, where he was going, and to look over his pickup. Upon seeing a 22 caliber rifle on the seat of the pickup, the driver was told by the gunman that he was not allowed to carry a rifle in the pickup. The mans employer, Frank Maestri, reported the incident to the Pershing County Sheriff, who, being concerned about a dangerous situation, advised Frank, for himself and his employees both, if confronted by Randy Reeder or any other BLM gunman again to cooperate in every way and report the incident to the Sheriffs Office.
Example 5: In September 2003, the Forest Service sent a gun-toting investigator from Sparks, Nevada, to Wendell, Idaho, to issue a citation to John Eickhof for damaging a resource by driving off the road. The alleged damage could not be detected by a number of civilians who inspected the area shortly after the incident.
The County Sheriff, who is elected by the people, is the head law enforcement officer in the County. The Shovel Brigade challenges the Forest Service and BLM to cite any incident that has occurred on federal land requiring law enforcement that could not have been easily handled by the Sheriffs Department.
The hunters, ranchers, campers, miners, snowmobilers, rock hounds, and other federal land users are becoming increasingly concerned by the aggressiveness of the federal agencies. The Brigade thinks it is time for a congressional review of the policy which allows gunmen to roam around the counties as representatives of the bureaucracies.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
For real time political chat - Radio Free Republic chat room
And you won't miss a thread on FR because e-bot will keep you informed.
I wish I could remember the thread this picture was on..it was during the Klamath standoff.
please add me to your ping list. Thank you, Byron
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.