A supporter of a Nevada ranching family is hoping her online petition will help to calm down a confrontation over cattle grazing on public land.
The Bureau of Land Management has been rounding up cattle belonging to the Bundy family on rangeland north of Las Vegas. Agency officials say the cattle are trespassing – the Bundys haven’t paid grazing fees for years. The family argues they’ve been using the land for generations, but they’ve lost two court decisions challenging federal jurisdiction.
Jodi Thornley lives in Mesquite, Nevada. She says more than three thousand people from all over the country have signed her petition on Change.org, objecting to the action by federal officials.
“It’s a peaceful way to let them know what you’re thinking," Thornley tells KUER. "I really hope that it does get to their ears and they’ll listen and something will, at least, calm this down a little bit.”
Supporters of the family have been traveling to Nevada from across the country. Media reports say some have been showing up with guns. The B-L-M had restricted protesters to fenced-off “free speech zones,” but those have now been eliminated.