Roots Of U.S. Capitol Insurrectionists Run Through American West

NRUS.INFO
12 Янв 2021, 17:09

Enlarge this image

In January 2016, armed militants led by Ammon Bundy, seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in an attempt to control US public lands.

Kirk Siegler/NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Kirk Siegler/NPR

The Two-Way
Who Will Blink First? Armed Occupation In Oregon Drags On

«We will go out of this state and out of this country as free men,» proclaimed Bundy to reporters in January of 2016, referring to an attempt to seize control more broadly of US public lands.

Bundy did eventually leave Oregon free, a jury acquitted him late in 2016. Late last month, he posted a video urging his followers to go to Washington on Jan. 6.

«God bless you, drive safe, fly safe, don’t wear a mask and stand for freedom,» Bundy said.

Extremist group monitors say violent acts like the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have been incubating in the western U.S. for years. Self-identified «patriots» have stormed government buildings, vandalized property and frequently threatened public employees often with few, if any legal consequences.

A western «ethos»

The freed Bundy has been a far right fixture in the response to the pandemic in the West, leading protests portraying public health restrictions like mask rules as tyranny.

In August, he violently forced his way into the Idaho Capitol, disrupting legislative hearings. His «People’s Rights» group followers frequently target the homes of local officials. In December, then-Ada County, Idaho Commissioner Diana Lachiando had to race home from a public health meeting upon learning that protesters were banging on her door where her son was alone. Boise’s mayor and police chief canceled the meeting citing safety reasons.

Enlarge this image

Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is wheeled from the Idaho Statehouse in Boise, on Aug. 26, 2020. It was his second arrest for trespassing in two days.

Keith Ridler/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Keith Ridler/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis
In Idaho, Far-Right Republicans Defy Coronavirus Health Restrictions

National
Idaho Lawmakers Sue Saying Returning To State Capitol Amid COVID-19 Violates ADA

«It is a movement that feels that it has received permission to act out its fantasies of political violence,» Ward says.

The movement also enjoys support from some elected Republican leaders in the region. After his return from Washington, D.C., last week, Couy Griffin, a defiant Otero County, New Mexico commissioner, posted a video on Facebook boasting about a future far-right rally in Washington.

«We could have a Second Amendment rally on those same steps, you know, and if we do, it’s gonna be a sad day because there’s going to be blood running out of that building,» Griffin says.

The video has since been taken down. But in others still on the site, Griffin, who founded the group «Cowboys for Trump,» rails against Democratic Party leaders and promises activists will reconvene in D.C. ahead of the inauguration.

«A Joe Biden presidency is something that we can never allow,» he says in one video.

Sagebrush rebels

These aren’t just the sagebrush rebels in cowboy hats as they’re so often cast.
The recent western uprisings drew people from cities around the nation: from Alex Jones and his conspiracy theorists to anti-Islamic campaigners to white nationalists.

Back in Boise, Diana Lachiando is worried about far-right extremism further reaching into the mainstream. She lost her bid for reelection to the Ada County Commission in Idaho last fall. Friday was her last day in office.

«I don’t have a lot of patience for the people who all of the sudden, it was a step too far to see some people take over the [U.S.] Capitol,» Lachiando says. «There are politicians who have been coddling those sentiments for years.»

Westerners such as Lachiando drew another parallel as they watched the Capitol insurrectionists post their illegal entry and vandalizing right to their own social media feeds. The Bundys and their followers largely did the same back in 2016.

They streamed videos of themselves sitting at government computers and tampering with public property, ultimately doing millions of dollars in damage and all but prosecuting themselves before their trials.

They’re mostly free men today.