The Facts about Cliven Bundy's Criminal Behavior

None of us were really shocked that Cliven Bundy, a Thief and Freeloader who has become a Conservative Hero, turned out to be incredibly racist. However, his criminal behavior is the most important aspect of the story. While many conservatives have been praising the gun-toting extremist supporters as "patriots", Harry Reid referred to them as "domestic terrorists." Are they domestic terrorists? Doesn't that seem a little extreme? Well, my friend, Cameron, decided to set aside the emotions involved in this crazy situation and lay down the facts. It is fantastic, so I asked for his permission to post it here. Take it away, Cameron!

As most of you who have been following me for a long time know, I typically don't venture into political commentary very often. It does happen, but it's rare. Recently, however, you've seen me talk a bit more than usual about Cliven Bundy and how upsetting it is to me that a segment of the population thinks of him as a hero. 

Well, I kind of want to stop talking about it now, but people just keep railing about how he's a true conservative hero and patriot - including elected officials who should know better. So, I am going to stop talking about him now, but first I'm going to explain - using facts and not rhetoric - why he and his militia are actually domestic terrorists. If any of my friends out there wish to refute my facts, please do so. Otherwise, I would hope my conservative friends would see the factual case I have presented and begin the process of ensuring that other conservatives also understand he is a criminal.

Fact 1: Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the right to own and manage property as it sees fit. It does not matter what state that property is in. So when Cliven Bundy refuses to recognize that the federal government owns the land his cattle grazed on, or that it is indeed allowed to own the land, he is factually wrong. He - and anyone else agreeing with or aiding him - are ignoring the Constitution. Period.

Fact 2: Cliven Bundy stopped paying the rent to use the land - which the federal government legally and constitutionally owns - 21 years ago.

Fact 3: Cliven Bundy continued to illegally use the land he did not have any legal or constitutional right to use for the entirety of the 21 past years, despite not paying for it. This is a crime.

Fact 4: During that 21 year period of illegally using that land, Cliven Bundy was served with numerous legal and court orders telling him to stop. He refused. This is also a crime.

Fact 5: The term for using a resource that does not belong to you without permission and without paying is "theft." Cliven Bundy is therefore a thief.

Fact 6: When the rightful owners of the land that he's been illegally using for 21 years finally showed up to take action, Cliven Bundy also showed up - with an armed militia - and refused to allow them to take their legal and constitutional course of action for restitution. This is especially important because:

Fact 7: The legal definition of "domestic terrorism" in the U.S. is this (as per the F.B.I., the correct jurisdictional office for this crime):

[Actions involving] acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state law [Cameron: when Bundy and his militia arrived for an armed standoff with federal law enforcement he violated this, but he must also meet one of the clauses below, which he does];

Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population [Cameron: nope]; or (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion [Cameron: Bingo! We have a domestic terrorist!]; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping [Cameron: nope, but it doesn't matter at this point as he and his militia already met the second condition]; and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. [Cameron: that's a big affirmative.]

Therefore, factually, Cliven Bundy and his militia are both thieves and domestic terrorists, by legal definition. Unless you believe the U.S. Constitution is wrong when it gives the government the right to own and manage land, thinking Bundy is anything but a criminal is intellectually dishonest and irrational. If you think he is a hero, you should reexamine for bias.

And now, thank goodness, this very long rant is finally over.