Family of defiant Nevada rancher file complaints with sheriff against federal agents

LAS VEGAS, May 2 (UPI) -- Relatives of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher in a dispute over grazing fees, filed complaints Friday accusing federal agents of impersonating police officers.

Bundy himself did not make the trip to the Las Vegas Metro Police headquarters. His sons, Ryan and Ammon, were joined by other relatives and friends.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management halted an attempt in April to seize Bundy's cattle when armed supporters gathered at his ranch 80 miles from Las Vegas. The government says that Bundy owes more than $1 million in unpaid fees for grazing his cattle on federal land.

Ammon Bundy was shot with a stun gun during a confrontation April 9. The complaints filed Friday included assault and making threats with a lethal weapon.

“We expect the sheriff to investigate the crimes,” Ammon Bundy said.

Bundy has said he believes the federal government has no legal authority and that any law enforcement above the level of county sheriff is illegitimate. Many conservative pundits and elected officials who had expressed sympathy with him began backing off after he was quoted by the New York Times suggesting that blacks were better off as slaves.

Bundy's feud with the federal government apparently began because he was upset over new regulations in the 1990s aimed at protecting a species of desert tortoise.