Gila rancher arrested in cattle roundup dispute (NM)

Albuquerque KOB-TV4 ^ | March 15, 2004 | Associated Press

[CedarDave]

Gila rancher arrested in cattle roundup dispute

Last Update: 03/15/2004 12:11:40 PM, By: Associated Press

(Silver City-AP) – A rancher whose cattle is being rounded up by the U.S. Forest Service in the Gila National Forest has been arrested and jailed.

Authorities say federal officers arrested Kit Laney around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

He remained held without bond in the Dona Ana County Detention Center Monday.

A jail spokesman says charges include three counts of assault on a peace officer and resisting and obstructing arrest.

Laney and his wife, Sherry, had been running about 400 head of cattle on the 146,000-acre Diamond Bar allotment in the forest.

Federal courts repeatedly have ruled against the Laneys’ claim of private property to federal land where they graze their cattle.

A federal judge has ordered the cattle removed.

A Gila spokesman, Jim Payne, says 235 to 240 head of cattle have been rounded up so far.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[Cultural Jihad]

Such needless worry over my property, friend. There are a variety of courts wherein I or anyone else can make our claims and pleadings known. Just claiming something is so doesn't have a whole lot of weight to it by itself.

[Cultural Jihad]

... land his family has owned since before statehood?

Property or thievery? Such an issue is relegated to the court of law, not the court of a public forum or that of a gun battle.

[B4Ranch]

If you had a family business since 1893 and you had been slowly building roads, water storage facilities, feed pens, putting in miles and miles of fences, etc., think how you would feel if the US government, specifically the Bureau of Land Management, working under guidlines issued from the United Nations came along and told you that it's time to close it all down.

No, we aren't going to pay you one red cent. We're going to kick your butt off the land you and your family has been taking care of for 111 years with 30 days notice.

I am interested how you would feel about this.

Remember New Mexico didn't become a State until January 6, 1912. You were settled there 21 years before they even became a State. 21 years before any State regulations came out.

For 21 years you were making the land worth something, you were part of the reason it became a State! It had an economy that provided food and jobs because of you and your hard work!

[Ranchwife]

You could be right, we have all been thinking along those lines.
There were at least 5 FS people there that night, at the bright orange portable corral in the Montoya Trap where the incident allegedly occurred, Kit was by himself. No witness for his side of the story, but it is so much more believable than the various stories the FS is coming up with (and, yes, they are coming up with more than one story about it. The FS employee that testified against Kit at his arraignment wasn't even there when it happened, so his testimony is merely heresay, and it's different than the head LEO is telling, and he was there, in fact, he's the one who used the pepper spray on Kit).
Sadly enough, though, my dad (another rancher the FS put out of business in 1999) says it only takes 2 lies to make it the truth. In other words, if there is no one to corroborate Kit's story, then it couldn't possibly be the truth.......our wonderful justice system at work again! I'd kinda like to see everyone of those who were there (Kit included) that night, get hooked up to a lie-detector machine, personally.
I can just hardly wait until I can let the whole story out of the bag, and everyone will know what a lying bunch of two-faced hypocrits the FS has in it's employ........

[Ranchwife]

Well, good luck to you in the "courts" when they decide to take what you have! Guess ya know all about the 3 priorities every attorney has, don't ya? In this order: 1. to the court 2. to the judge 3. to their client...........
They (Kit and Sherry) have done the "court" thing over and over again. What they're doing is right, there are laws on it in the books. It even went to the US Supreme Court in 1978 (just how much higher can you go?), and it was ruled that the ranchers own the water. Water and graze are incident to each other, you can't have one without the other. See New Mexico vs. US.......I think is where you can find the ruling on that.

[Cultural Jihad]

ice story. But apart from the court of law there is not much else to effect justice in a self-governable society, is there?

[Delphinium]

everyone will know what a lying bunch of two-faced hypocrits the FS has in it's employ........,

Don't have to convince me.

My oldest brother worked for BLM for 38 years before quitting. It was because of these types who were lying, and cheating good people out of there land.