Ammon Bundy to speak at Whitefish event
Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The group calls itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and has sent a “demand for redress” to local, state and federal officials. Armed protesters took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday after participating in a peaceful rally over the prison sentences of local ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
“This West is Our West,” a group that bills itself as a collection of voices throughout the Western states that are opposed to government regulation, will hold a day-long seminar Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish.
The event, titled “A ‘New’ Code of the West,” will feature a collection of speakers, including Ammon Bundy, leader of the armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in 2016 where one man died, and a participant in a standoff against law enforcement officials at his father Cliven Bundy’s ranch in Nevada, will speak on topics that include “The Deep State - Is It Impacting Western States?” “Agenda 21 and How it Affects Us in the West,” “Public vs. Private Property,” “Federal Indian Policy and Montana Voter Fraud,” “Bureaucratic Overreach and Standing Tall” and others.
The event begins at 8 a.m. and speakers will follow at 9 a.m. Bundy will speak from 3:35 to 5:05 p.m.
The principal organizer of the event is Laura Lee O’Neil, founder of the group “This West is OUR West.”
O’Neil described the gathering as people getting together to “have a dialogue about issues that are important to us.
“There are a lot of issues we will talk about, public versus private land, forest management and several others,” he said.
She said they weren’t a formal group and that they don’t consider themselves “alt-right” or “right-wing radicals” as they have been described by others.
In response, the Montana Wilderness Association, in partnership with Montana Wildlife Federation, Montana Human Rights Network and Love Lives Here, also will host an event Saturday, Oct. 13. “Montana Undivided: A Rally for Human Rights and Public Lands” will occur at 10 a.m. at Depot Park in Whitefish.
A group of Whitefish residents, tribal representatives and public-land advocates last week denounced the “New Code of the West.”
“By inviting Ammon Bundy, organizers and participants of this event are attempting to normalize the seizure of public lands and to legitimize threats against federal and local law enforcement,” said Bob Brown of Whitefish, a state legislator for 27 years and former Montana Secretary of State. “This extremist event flies in the face of the values Montanans of all political persuasions share. It has no place in Whitefish or anywhere else in Montana.”
Those who wish to register for the “This is OUR West” event may go to www.thiswestisourwest.com/index.cfm/in-the-news/registration-form/.
Costs range from $75 for students to $225 for couples, if registering from Oct. 4 through Oct. 13. The fee includes continental breakfast, buffet lunch, beverages and snacks.
Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.