The Federal Government Lost its War Against Cliven Bundy: Bigoted Cattle Rancher Who Was Defended By Armed Right-Wingers Was Never Indicted or Arrested

Cliven Bundy (left), who once said blacks were "better off" during slavery, has recently appeared in a "political campaign commercial" in which he suggested blacks were beggars. The "commercial" appeared to be written and produced by white supremacists. (Screen capture from video)

By Ryan Lenz, Southern Poverty Law Center
It has been six months since the federal government called off its attempt to round up cattle belonging to Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy amid a tense standoff with heavily armed militiamen who trained their weapons on federal agents.

For weeks prior, the antigovernment right had been portraying a federal court order to remove Bundy’s herd from public lands as a prime example of federal overreach – even though Bundy had refused to pay more than $1 million in accumulated grazing fees and fines because he said he didn’t recognize the government’s legitimacy.

Militias from around the country responded to Bundy’s plight, hoping that in that tiny corner of the desert they could make a stand against the government they see as the enemy. And when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) abandoned the operation to avoid a bloody shootout, they declared victory.

Government officials promised accountability for those who broke the law by taking up arms against federal agents. It seems unfathomable, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Justice would allow a mob of antigovernment zealots to get away with using the threat of violence to block the enforcement of the law.

But, as the months have dragged on, there has been no response. Not an arrest. Not an indictment. Nothing.

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