Since at least November, the Nevada-based Bundy family has been sending emails about the Oregon ranchers facing prison time. The emails express safety concerns, quote scripture, and ultimately call supporters to action.
Ammon Bundy in a video posted to YouTube in December.
YouTube / Via youtube.com
The standoff in Oregon involving a group of ranchers and militia members burst onto national headlines Saturday, but the conflict that sparked it has been simmering for much longer.
In fact, the Bundy family — Nevada ranchers who had their own conflict with the federal government in 2014, and who are now involved in Oregon — have for months been rallying around the Hammonds, a pair of Oregon ranchers facing prison time for arson. Here are some of the highlights from the Bundys' frequent emails that discuss the Hammonds and foreshadow what would become the standoff:
In the fall, Ammon Bundy — the son of better-known Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy — wrote that the Hammonds have been "battered and abused by the federal government for over a decade." Ammon went on to call the courts and federal attorneys "deceitful and full of corruption" before adding that the Bundys are "determined to do what ever it takes" to help the Hammonds.
"Please stay informed about the Hammond Family and be prepared to act according to the prompting the Lord gives you," the email later adds.
The quote above comes from an email sent by Carol Bundy, Cliven Bundy's wife. The email urges supporters to contact Harney County Sheriff David Ward "in an effort to influence him to stand and protect the Hammonds."
The "type and shadow" language is especially significant. It comes from The Book of Mormon (the scripture, not the musical) and is used by a prophet who is decrying a king that has unjustly oppressed and taxed his people.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1ZJmYsZ
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