Rancher Cliven Bundy’s supporters brought their protests from rural Clark County into the city Friday as they rallied outside Las Vegas police headquarters to tell the sheriff to stand up for Bundy against the federal government.
Three Southern Nevada tea party groups organized Friday’s event, which got no visible response from the Metropolitan Police Department or its leader.
A pair of American flags and Nevada’s state banner joined handwritten posters calling for Sheriff Doug Gillespie to “do his job” to protect the Bundy family from the federal government, which is in the process of rounding up patriarch Cliven’s so-called “trespass cattle” from a mountainous area northeast of Las Vegas.
One female protester had a firearm in a holster in the shadow of the police building, a few yards from the front door. No officers emerged from the building during the 45-minute gathering. A department public information officer did not respond to requests for comment.
“Sheriff Gillespie is the top elected law enforcement officer in Clark County and he has abdicated his role as sheriff, leaving the people of Clark County void of protection from abuse by the federal government,” said Connie Foust, president of the Virgin Valley Tea Party in Mesquite and co-organizer of the protest.
Protesters said they had heard rumors of snipers deployed by the Bureau of Land Management — the agency leading the roundup — in the hills around the Bundy ranch, as well as the removal of water tanks, which pushed cattle toward the river, causing some to die.
Amy Lueder, the state’s BLM director, acknowledged snipers had been in place in the roundup area but offered no further details Friday during a media conference call.
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