Perspective: 3 Days In Bunkerville At The Bundy Ranch

Ben Swann – by Bryan Daugherty

Bangor, Maine- It was only weeks ago when with the news of Cliven Bundy and his ranch being surrounded by federal agents, specifically the Bureau of Land Management, I found my way from Bangor, Maine to Cliven Bundy’s ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada.

I had several preconceived ideas of what the ranch in Bunkerville would be like.

I knew that it was a remote desert area, and I knew that the group of people gathered there was eclectic at best, having come from all over the United States. But I was surprised at how wrong I was. The camp was quite functional and very organized.

At that point, they had only been out there for 13 days.

There was a makeshift mess hall on the spot where a large structure had obviously burned down. It was full with food reserves donated from people across the country. Supporters helped to clean and repair the building and to organize and prepare the rations. They also genuinely sought to boost the morale of all those passing through.

A mere handful of people made sure that hot meals and cold drinks were available virtually 24 hours a day, an impressive feat, considering the camp was providing service for between sixty and eighty people a day while I was there. The supporters did the best they could to provide a healthy mix and to keep everything warm, and more importantly, keeping the continuous invasion of flies off the food.

There were portable toilets available with hand wash stations, propane-heated showers, and first aid items readily available. I was even handed a box of medical and bathroom supplies. It included a wide range of the TSA’s favorite traveling items, including mouthwash, toothpaste, lip balm, and liquid soap.

There was even a local Nevada grassroots activist who provided a free laundry service for those who were from out of town.

With the help of a friend, I found my way to “Camp Liberty,” where I shared a tent with two former Republican National Delegates that I knew from the turbulent 2012 Tampa Republican National Convention; one from Texas and another from New Mexico. It wasn’t the biggest tent, but I would soon discover why room to sleep would be the least of my worries on this trip.

By the time I familiarized myself with the various camps and notable locations and settled in, night was upon us. Both of my camp mates had already volunteered to help stand watch overnight at certain points across Cliven Bundy’s property.

Some of the watch posts served as observation points on hills overlooking the vast expanse of desert landscape and the liberty camps below. Other positions were strategically placed, serving as communication relays, places where supporters would help to identify visitors, take deliveries and media requests to either the Bundy household or the various camp leaders and contacts.

Standing Guard

That first night, I stood guard, along with a militia member from New Hampshire, at the entry to the Bundy driveway. Standing with walkie-talkie in hand, the sporadic radio checks, and the fear of an unknown landscape kept me from sleeping. We burned wooden pallets to warm the cold desert winds and shared stories about what brought us here and what was happening around us.

Throughout our twelve-hour watch — and an amazing sunrise — our only scare was a stampeding herd of Bundy cattle that had been spooked by some howling coyotes. You cannot imagine the relief I felt after realizing that it wasn’t an entire BLM infantry battalion descending upon the Bundy house as my brain first interpreted!

I had survived my first night in the desert without ever being stung, bitten, burned, droned, tasered, or shot.

The informal change of shift was late — taking place a few hours after the sunrise — and I attempted to recover with a cup of not-so-shabby, pot-stewed coffee and a miserable 3 hour mid-day nap.I discovered why many of the people I just had met were looking so exhausted — as well as why it wouldn’t really matter how big there tents were. Sleep was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

The Supporters Start to Leave

The next couple of days were relatively similar to the first. What I did begin to take notice of was the constant stream of rumors which began to surface and which were the topic of conversations of most with everyone I met up with. Many of the concerns centered on Stewart Rhodes and the Oath Keepers’ decision to pull back from the Bundy Ranch.

It is important to note that by the time I arrived in Bunkerville on April 27th, Stewart Rhodes and the the majority of Oath Keepers had already vacated the area.

There was no one reason for them to leave so abruptly that I could figure out, and it was impossible to know what happened, because it seemed every group there — or even every faction of every group there — had a different hypothesis. Rumors abounded, including the speculation that they pulled out because of the threat of drone strikes; that they all went to the casinos; and even that brothels played into it.

The different factional camps that ringed the Bundy ranch formed a loose and territorial coalition of different groups claiming responsibility for various functions of the Bunkerville operation.

There were essentially three groups once the Oath Keepers left. There was the Bundys’ private security detail which strictly operated around the Bundy house and were essentially unapproachable. There were also organized militia from around the country, standing watch over the camps and Bundy land, Minutemen, protectors, peaceful observers, and local activists all helping to support the encampment in the best way they saw fit and were comfortable with.

The number of people at the camps and protest sites fluctuated daily but it was quite evident by my last day that there were more people packing their tents and leaving than arriving to stay and maintain a dug-in presence.

Dissension in the ranks may have motivated some to return back to the comforts of normal lives, but I spoke to many who were departing who felt that the confrontation was over. The BLM had stood down and hopefully retreated with the a new-found respect and understanding of “We The People.” Others remained due to their suspicions that the Feds could return at any second.

Still others stayed, worried about death threats that Bundy family members received after a misreporting of Cliven Bundys statements by the mainstream media. Is it possible that their concerns may be justified? Only time will tell, but if history is any indicator, they will be back, and the results will not be hopeful.

The militias dwindling numbers were replaced with a steady stream of “Bunkerville tourists” who traveled to just to see for themselves what was happening on a small ranch 80 or so miles out of Las Vegas in America where such things as this are just not supposed to happen.

New Media Reports What the Mainstream Press Won’t

During my time in Bunkerville, I spoke with many of these visitors, many of whom chose to take the hour-long detour from their Las Vegas vacations to get a glimpse of what has become the most contentious stand off since the ATF surrounded the Branch Davidian group and David Koresch in Waco, Texas for 51 days before incinerating the compound and killing more than 75 men, women, and children.

One out-of-state couple on their honeymoon came out to show their support and purchase some Bundy melons.

Although no melons were in season, they made sure to visit with many of the militia and protesters, showering them with words of encouragement. Even the locals who drove past the Bundy’s front drive would smile and wave towards those standing watch.

It was a much more cohesive community than what the mainstream media has reported before, during, and after my stay in Nevada.

All battles are won in the hearts and minds of people, and this loose grassroots movement seems to show that this battle, if not won, is certainly not lost.

That is why there has been such a strong bias in the mainstream media. Their non-stop attack on the character of Cliven Bundy and those protecting or supporting have, in this case, not succeeded. Radio hosts, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and all sorts of “alternate media” carried the message and the day.

We can only hope that this trend continues.

 

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