'I’ve often wondered if negroes are better off as slaves picking cotton?' The shocking racist rant made by 'hero' Nevada cattle rancher
- Cattle rancher Cliven Bundy allegedly refuses to pay $1m taxes on his herd
- Bundy has become a hero among locals who claim that the federal government is 'overreaching'
- Bundy told supporters on Saturday that black people 'abort their young children, put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton'
- The 67-year-old, father-of-14 is using his new-found fame to share his views on everything from abortion to the welfare state to slavery
- Nevada Senator Harry Reid has branded Bundy and those protecting him 'domestic terrorists'
- To see videos:
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2612095/The-shocking-racist-rant-Nevada-rancher-Cliven-Bundy.html
Cliven
Bundy, a Nevada cattle rancher, has become something of a celebrity in
his frontier stronghold since his showdown over land with federal
authorities earlier this month.
Officials
had tried to round up Bundy's cattle and evict him on April 12 after 20
years of not paying taxes. However they were forced to give up after a
militia of several hundred people, some of them armed with sniper
rifles, turned up and threatened to open fire.
On Saturday he made a rambling speech littered with racist remarks to a gathering made up of local supporters and a few scattered members of the press.
Scroll down for video
Flanked by armed supporters, rancher Cliven Bundy speaks at a protest camp near Bunkerville, Nevada on April 18
Bundy, a 67-year-old father-of-14 and registered Republican, stopped paying taxes in 1993
He said: 'In front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids - and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch - they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do.
'And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton.
And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.'
Rancher Cliven Bundy (center with his arm around
his granddaughter Jerusha) greets supporters during a Bundy family
'Patriot Party' near Bunkerville, Nevada, on April 18
Mr Bundy, a 67-year-old father-of 14 and registered Republican, is accused of not paying federal grazing taxes for his cattle for 20 years, and reportedly owes the government $1million.
A federal taskforce has been setup to deal with him, Senate majority leader and Nevada Democrat Harry Reid said last week, branding Bundy a 'domestic terrorist'.
The
Bureau of Land Management tried to round up Bundy's cattle earlier this
month but were forced to back down after hundreds of supporters, some
carrying automatic weapons and sniper rifles, threatened violence.
Reid
accused the militia supporting Reid of deliberately putting women and
children into the firing line so that, in the event of violence, they
got hurt first ensuring the worst possible headlines.
Meanwhile Bundy has warned that he will never back down down from his fight.
'They
will come, and I don't care,' he told MailOnline earlier this month.
'The people and citizens of America will win this fight. We have God on
our side and we will be better prepared for them next time.'
He
said supporters from across the U.S., many of the armed a prepared to
defend themselves, were heading for the remote town of Bunkersville,
about 80 miles from Las Vegas in southern Nevada.
He
said: 'People have been mobilized by what they have seen and heard and
they will come here because they see it as their right to defend the
land.'
Officials tried to round up Bundy's cattle and
evict him on April 12 but were forced to give up after a militia of
several hundred people, some of them armed, turned up and threatened to
open fire
Bundy won the first round of his fight with agents from the Bureau of Land
Management after they released several hundred cows they had seized as
part of a long running dispute over grazing rights in Nevada.
Craig Leff, from the Bureau of Land Management, told the Times: 'The gather is now over. Our focus is pursuing this matter
administratively and judicially.'
Fears
of an armed confrontation with dozens of armed militia who had camped
out in a field leading to Bundy's ranch led federal officials to call
off their operation.
Supporters
of Bundy hailed the decision as a victory - but the decision was taken
in part because Clark County Sheriff's feared violence could erupt at
any moment.
Many
of the militia, who wore camouflage clothing and stalked the roads
around the Bundy home carrying automatic weapons,said they were prepared
to take on the federal agents in a fire fight.
One was overheard boasting that he had two agents in his gun sight and could 'take them down'.
Surrounding Bundy's ranch, one armed man
(not pictured) was heard saying he had officials 'in his sights' during
the heated stand-off earlier this month
Land
managers limited the Bundy herd to just 150 head on a land which the
rancher claims has been in his family for more than 140 years.
The
government also claims Bundy has ignored cancellation of his grazing
leases and defied federal court orders to remove his cattle.
Last
week, they began an operation to seize his cattle prompting the stand
off and mini invasion by militia members from California, Arizona,
Montana and Utah to rush to his support.
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie was able to negotiate a resolution after talking with Bundy.
It has not been revealed if Bundy would pay the estimated $1.2million he owes to the Government.
The
dispute that ultimately triggered the roundup dates to 1993, when the
bureau cited concern for the federally protected tortoise in the region.
The
bureau revoked Bundy's grazing rights after he stopped paying grazing
fees and disregarded federal court orders to remove his animals.
The
fight between Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management widened into a
debate about states' rights and federal land-use policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered