Sheriff travels to Nev. ranch in fed dispute

Elkhart County Sheriff Brad Rogers has weighed in on a controversy surrounding a Nevada rancher, and visited the scene of the struggle. Rogers acknowledges the situation is complex. Via a Facebook post, he also said sheriffs have great authority to protect the people from criminals — and sometimes an overreaching government itself. “Even though this is currently occurring in Nevada, something similar will be coming to a location near you,” the sheriff wrote. “You can bet on it.” Rogers was invited to Nevada by the Bundy family and the Oath Keepers, a group defining itself as defending the Constitution. The sheriff arrived at the ranch Friday and stayed in the area through Sunday; Rogers said he did so on personal vacation time “and not on the taxpayer dime.” Rogers said he is sensitive to federal government overreach since his confrontation with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice. This confrontation stemmed from what Rogers termed numerous and unreasonable inspections of an Amish milk farmer in Elkhart County in 2011. The sheriff said he was able to see firsthand many of the dynamics involved in the Nevada situation, and also spoke to Bundy. Rogers also said he doesn’t know if Bundy is correct in his stand, or whether he truly owes money or not. “Some people think he’s a freeloader, using public land for his cattle,” Rogers wrote on Facebook. “Yet, he is a hard worker, unlike others on welfare sponging off the taxpayer for no work. The tradition of ranchers using public land is centuries old. Bundy supporters agree that the issue is complex. However, what all people, including myself, would agree on, and likely sparked the patriot response to this event, is that we will not tolerate being governed by a Federal government at the point of a gun.” Rogers said that after bureau personnel left the land last week, the Bundy family found a mass grave containing numerous cattle that had been shot. The sheriff also alleges the bureau destroyed watering holes and fencing that had been constructed by Bundy...more

A sheriff from INDIANA travels to the Bundy Ranch while the sheriff in NEVADA cowers before the feds (and probably Harry Reid) and finally negotiates "behind the scenes."