Another important consideration on why the government doesn’t want a confrontation is because there’s no guarantee that Federal officers will actually participate in one.
And what happens if/when Federal officers start refusing to obey orders?
People, I think, don’t give Federal officers enough credit. Iirc there were clear indications, posted in threads here, during the Bundy Ranch situation that the Federal officers wanted no part of a showdown, and were clearly communicating that up their chains of command.
Then consider all the NPS Rangers who found other directions to look in, other places to be, during the whole barrycades civil disobedience during the shutdown ...
Interesting, I hadn’t heard that the Feds in Nevada were unwilling to fight. The few videos I saw showed them looking like a—holes and quite confrontational. Can you send me some links?