Cliven Bundy

Cliven Bundy
Bundy in 2014
Born (1946-04-29) April 29, 1946 (age 78)[1]
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
OccupationRancher
Known forBundy standoff
Political partyRepublican
Independent American Party
Criminal chargeConspiracy
Children14, including Ammon and Ryan
RelativesCeleste Maloy (niece)

Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher known for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff.[2] Bundy has advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government overreach. He is the father of Ammon Bundy, who in 2016 also led another armed standoff against the government, the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Bundy initiated the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada, an armed standoff with federal and state law enforcement over defaulted grazing fees. On February 10, 2016, Cliven Bundy was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at the Portland International Airport while he was on his way to support the Malheur Standoff. He was placed in federal custody, facing federal charges related to his own standoff with the Bureau of Land Management in 2014.[3] On January 8, 2018, Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial and dismissed the charges because the federal government had withheld potentially exculpatory evidence.[4]

Bundy has participated in, and had links with various related movements, including anti-government activism (which opposes federal government involvement in favor of state and local governments) and the sovereign citizen movement (which holds that people are answerable only to their particular interpretation of the common law and are not subject to any government statutes or proceedings). Some[who?] view him as a hero for having led a movement of ranchers to encourage more ranchers to join him in defaulting on their grazing fees as per their federal grazing contracts.[5][6] Bundy's views have also generated significant controversy and criticism; for instance, he came under fire for remarks suggesting that African Americans might have been better off under slavery.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Range War: Timeline of Events". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 21, 2014. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  2. ^ "Who Is Cliven Bundy and Why Is He So Controversial? - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. April 25, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  3. ^ Zaitz, Les (February 10, 2016). "Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland". Oregon Live. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Smith, John L. (January 8, 2018). "UPDATE 2-U.S. judge ends case over standoff in Nevada land dispute". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Nagourney, Adam (April 23, 2014). "A Defiant Rancher Savors the Audience That Rallied to His Side". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Rebellious Nevada rancher's slavery remarks dim Republican support". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.