PHOTOS: Bundys and supporters mark 11-year anniversary of standoff

BUNKERVILLE — As Cliven Bundy held court last Saturday with a small group of Southern Nevada journalists, he talked about cattle grazing rights and the U.S. Constitution. Among other things, his son, Ryan, signaled that it was time for a prayer before dinner was served under a blue spring sky at the Bundy Ranch.

“Dad, you ready to start?” Ryan Bundy said to his father, 77-year-old rancher and activist Cliven Bundy.

Minutes later, about 30 people, all there to mark the 11-year anniversary of the April 2014 Bunkerville standoff, feasted on a cowboy camp meal of beef fresh from the ranch, beans, potatoes and biscuits.

The meal came after Brand Thornton of Alamo performed songs by the band Journey and Johnny Cash on a karaoke machine. Most seemed to enjoy Thornton’s singing, though Bundy supporter Doug Knowles of Pahrump at one point bragged that he had snuck behind Thornton to turn the machine’s volume down.

As they ate, Ryan Bundy, 52, talked about the tense days before the standoff, when he remembers talking to a Bureau of Land Management agent.

“He wanted to know what it would take to avoid a conflict,” Bundy said. “I said that’s easy — don’t come.”

The standoff — the Bundy family said they don’t like to use that word — happened when armed anti-government supporters joined the Bundys near the ranch, about 140 miles northeast of Pahrump, to defend against a BLM plan to execute a court order to round up cattle from the ranch.

The attempt stemmed from a decades-long dispute over grazing fees the federal government said were owed by the Bundys. The standoff, which mostly played out near a freeway overpass not far from the ranch, drew international attention.

Saturday afternoon, the mood at the sprawling ranch was light. Tables set up near the food line featured pocket copies of the Constitution (Cliven and Ryan carried their copies in their shirt pockets) and copies of Michael Stickler’s biography of Bundy.

Cliven Bundy told the journalists that he’s a strong believer in the Constitution. He said his family never had a “contract” with the federal government and he contended that it never had any jurisdiction over land in Clark County that he lets his cattle graze on.

“I believe the United States Constitution was inspired by God,” Bundy said. “I believe the Founding Fathers were inspired to write this Constitution. To me, this is scripture. I’ll tell you how you fix this nation — you listen to what the Founding Fathers were saying in this little book.”

Since 2014, the Bundy Ranch has mostly been a calm place, family members said.

“Coming back here today is like walking back in time,” said Cox, a Utah resident who has long supported the Bundys and their anti-government causes. “We’re happy today because they’re still on the land. That’s what the purpose was in 2014. We wanted to help them stand their ground. They tried to run them off.”

Ryan Bundy said he remembers “everything” about the multi-day standoff in 2014.

“We were getting calls from media in China,” he said. “We had support from Ireland. And sometimes I think people forget that we won. We said back then that we’d do whatever it takes and that’s what we did.”

By the end of the meal, Cliven had moved on to talking about his support for a “free press” in America. He also spoke of how appreciative he is to all those who came to support him in 2014.

“Twenty years ago, there were 52 ranchers in Clark County, but I’m the last man standing,” Bundy said. “There were times when I felt like the last man standing, but (in 2014) I wasn’t the last man standing because we had so many people come here to help us. Now, we have President Trump again and what he’s doing is really close to what I would do, so I guess I’m not the last man standing.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.