THE WESTERNER: Exclusive tour - 'We may be breaking codes, but not supreme law of the land'

On the 10th day of an armed standoff on federal property near Burns, Oregon, the leader of a rancher militia, Ammon Bundy, said he and his supporters “are breaking codes and regulations, but we are not breaking the supreme law of the land.”

RT’s Simone Del Rosario took a tour around the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve with Bundy, who led militia members and anti-government activists in a takeover on January 2. They believe that the federal ownership of the land is unconstitutional and that it should belong to the local community.

Bundy says that people are left with the choice of either obeying the government-imposed codes or making the government follow the US Constitution.

His group, which came up with the name "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom" (CCF) after repeated media queries, is not lacking in resources, despite what some have assumed. There are offices, bunkhouses, workshops and a mess hall stocked with plenty of food.

One conference room, where CCF meets with locals or the militia-aligned "Committee of Safety," is also used for storing federal government documents. Bundy admits to poring over files detailing how the feds interact with each other as well as neighboring ranchers.

“We always put everything back in where they’re supposed to go, but we’re definitely looking through and seeking for different things, like, you know, how did they take so-and-so’s water rights away and kind of what their perception of those things are,” Bundy said.

While it is not clear exactly how many people are occupying the federal grounds, the passion of many is undeniable. James Stanton, a disabled and retired Navy diver from Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, arrived with a heartfelt gift for Bundy. Stanton’s old Navy uniform jacket symbolizes his past military service, and was dedicated to Bundy.

For Bundy, it’s an example of “what’s happening across the country.”

“I don’t think people would be here if they did not see that there is truly a problem, and that if they did not have hope that we could resolve it, and that’s what we’re doing here,” Bundy said.

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