Id say the BLM and other LEOs on the scene were the ones at risk of being massacred, and they finally figured it out. They were outgunned and out maneuvered
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They weren’t out gunned or out maneuvered. It was just going to be lousy TV. They will be back and it will be quick and lethal.
And nighttime.
Not only would it have been lousy TV, but I would assume the guys with some combat military experience really didn't want to end up in an unplanned free for all firefight where they were at the bottom of a sandy ravine with no useful cover and there were an unknown number of potential opponents on the high ground - with concrete barriers for cover.
Also, if you looked carefully at the government agents, some were heavily armed, and probably well trained. Some probably not so much. I doubt as a team they had any experience in fighting their way out of what would have amounted to a close quarters ambush, had shooting started for any reason, even mistakenly. Whatever the scope of the dispute regarding the cattle, it isn't worth people getting killed over it.
Situations like the one they created can rapidly spiral out of control, and when they do people get hurt or killed on both sides. Luckily cooler heads prevailed at that moment, and an obviously tense situation was defused. At this point political leaders need to get involved to prevent a repeat of what appears to be an unnecessary and dangerous use of force.
A good starting point would be for political leaders in Congress to start asking questions to the BLM and start getting documents and emails to understand why the BLM took the course of action they did. I suspect a good number of the BLM and police agents present don't consider "trespass cattle" something worth dying for. And the public certainly doesn't think some cattle, or a debt would justify the loss of anyone's life. Whoever put them in a situation where that could have happened should be willing to explain to the public why they did so.
They ( BLM ) were out flaked in the bottom of a river bed. They were going to be slaughtered. The professional conduct and mercy of the militia is what saved those men.
It looked like they were set up to be killed by their handlers so the full power of the federal government could be deployed. Mass confiscation of weapons for the good of the children country wide.
Tyranny took a direct hit and it was wonderful to witness. They will be back and so will the people.
And, with choppers and drones to test out the coordinated effort. This is a test case.