Posted on 12/13/2011 11:36:00 AM PST by rightly_dividing
Full title:Meet the North Dakota family of anti-government separatists busted by cops using a Predator drone... after 'stealing six cows'
Meet the Brossarts, a North Dakota family deemed so dangerous that the local sheriff needed unleashed an unmanned Predator drone to help bring them in.
The Brossart's alleged crime? They wouldn't give back three cows and their calves that wandered onto their 3,000-acre farm this summer.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Rustling and thievery doesn’t make em some kind of heros to me. You don’t get to just claim ownership of a few thousand dollars worth of cattle belonging to someone else, which stray onto your land. And kudos to the duputies who didn’t feel the pressing need to shoot it out with em when they showed up armed to try to keep their ill gotten gains.
They found a way to catch them unarmed later.
Historically we used to do a lot worse to cattle thieves in this country
guess they are members of the “Finders Keepers Party of America” the FKPOA.
Hang em’ high.
Of course, all of us, the Tea Party, and anyone that doesn’t want the government controlling every aspect of our lives
will be lumped in with these people.
Old hippies
I am not sure how much of this is true. I think the government protests too loudly.
Not as easy as it sounds - there's no trees in NoDak.
A freind of mine once told me come on out to ND and stand around we need the wind break.
We have not heard the full of this here in North Dakota either. At no point has anyone heard that the sheriff had a warrant to enter the property nor have we learned that the cattle were actually recovered from the ranch. I, too, will resort to arms to prevent government agents entering my property without permission or a warrant. Just because some neighbor who may not keep up his fences claims I have his stray cattle is not grounds for a warrant. If I do have his cattle as a result of them wandering through down fences that are responsability of the neighbor, he is liable for damages.
If you look up local coverage, yes there was a warrant and yes the cows were recovered from the Brossart farm and they’ve been charged with theft and defying an estray order.
Interestingly, the name of the owner of the cattle seems to be kept out of the media. I do wonder if Brossart refused to return the cattle when asked by the owner and then the sheriff became involved.
Seems as if this family is not a good neighbor.
Non-rhetorical question from city boy: what damage can a cow do this time of year? Aren’t all the crops harvested? Cow poop is good for the land.
As it stands that statement opens up a lot of questions.
Posse Comitatus Act?
Not in cattle country it doesn’t. Many western states still have open range designated areas. No rancher can keep up 100’s of miles of fencing, 100% of the time. Cattle push old fenceposts over using them for scratching posts. And in treeless NoDak, every fencepost is a scratching post.
The laws in these states have long required ranchers to report stray cattle to the sheriff’s department so their brand can be identified and their owner notified. Not to mention that the owner might have notified the sheriff regarding missing cattle and their suspected whereabouts.
The Brossarts appear to have been engaging in a little opportunistic cattle rustling. Just hang on to the 3 cows until they’ve weaned the calves then mingle the calves with your own and brand them. You are now 3 calves richer and their mothers can be turned out on the side of the road to wander off again.
That's what I mean. That is an assumption not supported by anything in the article which brings up several questions.
Was there any contact with the Brossart's before arresting them for not reporting the strays? (nothing in the article) Is there a reasonable expectation that they would notice six cows on 3,000 acres? (nothing in the article) Is it usual to make an arrest for non-reportage of trespassing livestock? (nothing in the article) Has there ever been a previous incident wherein the Brossarts didn't report strays on their property and tried to keep them as their own? (nothing in the article)
Everything you said is all well and good but based on the article all of those questions are relevant and unanswered. I was born and raised in Colorado so trying to edumacate me on the etiquette and realities of ranch country isn't necessary.
Perhaps you shouldn’t trust the reportage of a British tabloid to be the last word on what is happening in in NoDak.
Some simple googling will turn up local news reports.
http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/10488/
The real question is why the media left out all those important aspects. Perhaps they have an agenda of their own?
I wasn't. That was what was presented and that was what was under discussion. If you wanted to introduce additional information you could have done so before. But it's ridiculous to expect anyone to do a top to bottom investigation of a story before commenting on an article in a discussion forum.
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