Armed advocates guard Lincoln-area mine amid dispute with Forest Service

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TOM KUGLIN for the Missoulian


Self-described constitutional rights activists confer Wednesday just off Main Street in Lincoln. According to retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Jospeh Santoro, the Oath Keepers and other groups are protecting the rights of White Hope Mine claimants George Kornec and Phill Nappo.

HELENA – Armed groups describing themselves as constitutional advocates are in Lincoln to try to stop what they call harassment and unlawful action by the U.S. Forest Service concerning mining on a federal claim.

Oath Keepers, a national group best known as among the supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy during a 2014 grazing dispute with the Bureau of Land Management, initiated a “security operation” and national call for personnel at the White Hope Mine east of Lincoln on Tuesday. Oath Keepers are joined by Pacific Patriot Network and Idaho III%, deriving its name from the 3 percent of Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Members of the groups, many of them wearing camouflage and openly carrying firearms, came to Lincoln on Monday to begin the security operation. They came from Montana, but also Oregon, Utah, Idaho and Colorado.

The groups say the mining claim held by George Kornec predates 1955 regulations that granted surface rights to the Forest Service. The claim thus falls under the 1872 mining law, granting both surface and subsurface rights to Kornec, they say.

The Forest Service, the groups said in a news release, has been unlawfully demanding operating plans under the 1955 law, and not allowed the miners to operate for two years.

read more at link: http://ravallirepublic.com/missoula/news/local/article_57459d49-7ac5-5ea5-847b-f776d106a777.html

[COLGATE4]

1. Let's hope that the Feds don't give in to this

Cliven Bundy crap a second time and let armed insurrectionists tell them what they can and cannot do.

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2. This is something I'll be watching closely.