My name is Judy Calman, I'm an attorney for an conservation non-profit in New Mexico. I am extremely familiar with the Bundy/anti-federal/Public land takeover movement, and have been working against it for many years in the Southwest.
I am becoming increasingly angry that the Justice Department and Administration (I'm sending this email to the Justice Department too) has not taken ANY action regarding the illegal seizure of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
Trust me, I completely understand the desire to avoid a violent confrontation, and I agree with that goal. I also understand that it's a complicated issue, and that they should not be turned into martyrs for their "movement" in any way.
That being said, I am completely baffled as to why the Administration has done NOTHING while a community is terrorized, while active threats against the US Government are being made, while they're trying to recruit others to revolt, while federal employees are forced out of their jobs, and perhaps most importantly, why land that is supposedly publicly owned and publicly accessible to all Americans is now held at gunpoint by an insane militia group and not open to the public.
This whole thing has been exacerbated by the Government's so-far refusal to prosecute Cliven Bundy, and this anti-government/anarchy movement has Westerners really scared. And it's not going away. Allowing this to continue convinces these people that they can get away with things like this. Because clearly they can!
I am not necessarily suggesting anything drastic. But the week this started the Administration said it was going to shut off power to the refuge and so far I don't believe it has. Why not?
Most disturbingly, how on earth is it possible that this group of people has been allowed to come and go off the refuge with no arrests?! How are they able to attend community meetings (armed!) and go get pizza (armed!) and return to the well-lit, well-heated refuge?!
I can't for the life of me think of a reason that these people are not being quietly arrested when they leave the refuge. I am a lifelong Democrat, two-time Obama voter, and I still greatly support him. But this is extremely disconcerting to me and many others, and I do not think the Administration is handling this correctly. Public lands belong to all Americans. It is a treasured legacy that should never be under violent threat. PLEASE do not let these people get away with this. Thanks for your time.