Tim DeChristopher spent almost two years in prison for an act of civil disobedience when he peacefully disrupted a BLM oil and gas lease auction in Salt Lake City. The BLM aggressively pursued charges against DeChristopher. He broke the law and went to prison for it.
Earlier this month, a group of protesters led by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, and including Cliven Bundy’s son, illegally rode ATVs through a protected section of Recapture Canyon near Blanding, Utah. The canyon is protected because it houses significant ecological and archaeological sites. Indeed, local Native American tribes consider the land sacred. Yet Lyman and his band ignored pleas by local tribes and BLM officials and instead rode motorized vehicles over the protected land, calling it an act of civil disobedience.
Lyman and his band broke the law. They should be held accountable.
Sign our petition to tell US Attorney David Barlow and Utah BLM Director Juan Palma to hold the protesters and armed militia accountable for riding their ATVs through Recapture Canyon and breaking the law. The law should be applied fairly and uniformly.
Petition language and additional links below.
Dear US Attorney David Barlow and Utah BLM Director Juan Palma,
A group of armed protesters, lead by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, recently broke the law by riding motorized vehicles through protected land. They are yet to be held accountable for their behavior, despite the illegal nature of their actions and the likely harm they caused to ecological and archaeological sites. Utahns are a law abiding people and their actions are a direct insult to both the law and Utah culture. We ask you to hold them accountable for their illegal actions.
Sincerely,
Concerned Citizens of Utah
Sign the petition at: http://act.betterutah.org/sign/recapture_canyon/
