by Denver Post Opinion

November 6, 2016

 

Re: “Parallels seen in protests of Dakota pipeline, Oregon refuge,” Oct. 29 news story.

The article about parallels between public land protests in North Dakota and Oregon drew interesting comparisons. But acquitted? Are you kidding? Last time I checked, armed takeover of a federal facility is not “exercising your First and Second Amendment rights,” as the lawyers for the Malheur rabble said. It’s an act of domestic terrorism and a crime. Imagine if they had tried this at a federal facility in the District of Columbia, say, the Washington Monument. Did the jury in the case of the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge go brain-dead during deliberations? It isn’t 1870 and the matter is not open to debate: The lands in question are federal lands and aren’t subject to whims of local-control fanatics. The Bundys and the rest of their political ilk aren’t patriots or heroes; they’re homegrown terrorists and criminals and should be the recipients of lengthy prison terms.

Greg Sauer, Woodland Park

 

Full article: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/06/an-act-of-domestic-terrorism-at-malheur-wildlife-refuge/