Two days ago, President Obama designated 300,000 acres surrounding Gold Butte, Nevada, as a national monument. This is the area where Cliven Bundy first had a standoff with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials in 2004. Eventually, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other agencies retreated (for lack of a better word) than to escalate the situation.
This standoff appeared to create momentum for other individuals. Jerad and Amanda Miller, who were present at the Bundy standoff for a period of time, ambushed and killed two police officers in Las Vegas a few months later. Earlier this year (2016), Bundy’s son Ammon Bundy led his own standoff with officials in Oregon.
As power transitions from a Democratic to Republic executive, what impact will that have on these domestic anti-government groups and their behavior?
I assess with high confidence anti-government activity will diminish significantly after President-Elect Trump takes office. I base this assessment on previous trends seen in the sovereign citizen movement.
- According to my own sovereign citizen research, incidents against law enforcement and public officials were rare during the times of conservative (Republican) presidents. In 2008 when President Obama took office, however, there was a marked increase in anti-government activity.
- Republican administrations are also less likely to increase tensions with policies. Republican administrations tend to level or decrease taxes and strive to reduce the size of the federal government. This typically means there is a detente between government agents and anti-government groups.
While the impact of the administration change has yet to be seen, it is quite plausible we will likely see a decrease in activity once President-Elect Trump takes office.