This has a long way to go. Bureaucrats are always looking up the chain for guidance, and the local BLM clearly didn’t have it in this case.
So they withdrew.
Now the Feds at higher levels are organizing to find who who is these protests, what special skills they may have, intent, leadership of the group, etc.... Washington at the highest levels is now cranking up its intelligence capabilities, and also drawing up scenarios and PR.
Round 2 will come shortly.
The confrontation was a huge PR debacle. There’s no doubt there’s some screaming and ass kicking going on behind closed doors. The aftermath won’t be pretty. They’ll be back with vengeance on their minds. Bundy has to pay for making them look like fools. You can bet more pressure will be applied next time with lots more reinforcements.
They need to be met again with resolve and a whole lot more.