hmmmm.....my two cents is that they probably thought when they conceived this event that the Feds would turn tail and run like they did at the Bundy Ranch.
I think the lesson learned here is that IF YOU ARE GOING TO FLASH GUNS.....,,,,.you better be ready to use them. They found they weren’t.
If you are going to face off with people that only know how to use hammers, don’t look like a bunch of nails. Occupy downtown Portland with a bunch of cattle and the government wouldn’t know what to do.