A fascinating and frustrating look at how the federal government has chosen to respond to armed right-wing anti-government extremists on federal lands in the west.
For most of us who treasure and enjoy the federal lands that have been gifted to us to use it was beyond frustrating to see local and federal law enforcement sit back and watch an armed takeover of the Malheur Refuge. The justification given by the extremists for their action was that the State of Oregon not the Federal Government owned not just these Refuge lands, but all federal land in the West. This fundamentally flawed notion advanced by Bundy and others was not examined in the movie. It has been rejected numerous times over the last 150 years and as recently as April of last year when Bundy's continued assertion of state ownership of federal land in Nevada was thrown out by Nevada State Judge Jim Crockett who concluded in part, "It is simply delusional to maintain that all public land within the boundaries of Nevada belongs to the State of Nevada."
The lack of any justification for the takeover leads inevitably to an equally absent plan or strategy for ending their takeover or way to declare victory. Indeed one can feel the impatience and anxiety of the occupiers rising after 41 days and the initial thrill and attention faded, local opposition mounted and roads were blocked and treats stopped being delivered. It apparently was this desperation for attention that drove them to leave the compound and to run a blockade resulting in Lavoy Finicum's death.
The show ends with the uneasy feeling that we have not seen the end of this kind of armed right wing protest. The documentary leaves the question of how to respond especially with a President who seems to openly encourage and defend such behavior. At least in this case it seems like an immediate blockade of the site limiting supplies and media attention would have forced their hand much sooner.
For more a more detailed account of the takeover including what happened at the occupied site you can visit Wikipedia's "Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge". As for Harney County citizens they held a primary election in May 2016 at which voters turned out in large numbers. All of the winning candidates had opposed the occupation.
For most of us who treasure and enjoy the federal lands that have been gifted to us to use it was beyond frustrating to see local and federal law enforcement sit back and watch an armed takeover of the Malheur Refuge. The justification given by the extremists for their action was that the State of Oregon not the Federal Government owned not just these Refuge lands, but all federal land in the West. This fundamentally flawed notion advanced by Bundy and others was not examined in the movie. It has been rejected numerous times over the last 150 years and as recently as April of last year when Bundy's continued assertion of state ownership of federal land in Nevada was thrown out by Nevada State Judge Jim Crockett who concluded in part, "It is simply delusional to maintain that all public land within the boundaries of Nevada belongs to the State of Nevada."
The lack of any justification for the takeover leads inevitably to an equally absent plan or strategy for ending their takeover or way to declare victory. Indeed one can feel the impatience and anxiety of the occupiers rising after 41 days and the initial thrill and attention faded, local opposition mounted and roads were blocked and treats stopped being delivered. It apparently was this desperation for attention that drove them to leave the compound and to run a blockade resulting in Lavoy Finicum's death.
The show ends with the uneasy feeling that we have not seen the end of this kind of armed right wing protest. The documentary leaves the question of how to respond especially with a President who seems to openly encourage and defend such behavior. At least in this case it seems like an immediate blockade of the site limiting supplies and media attention would have forced their hand much sooner.
For more a more detailed account of the takeover including what happened at the occupied site you can visit Wikipedia's "Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge". As for Harney County citizens they held a primary election in May 2016 at which voters turned out in large numbers. All of the winning candidates had opposed the occupation.
