Cliven Bundy, the Nevada man who became a folk hero after a standoff with the federal government last spring, said he hasn’t felt any pressure to pay his $1.2 million debt, according to an interview with the Guardian.
Bundy, backed by a citizen militia called “We The People,” engaged in a standoff with the federal government in April 2014 after the Bureau of Land Management attempted to seize his cows over unpaid fees for grazing on federal land.
Bundy has yet to pay his debt and has no intention to do so, declaring victory over the federal government as he continues to graze his cattle on the land.
“It’s a battle that the American people won,” Bundy told the Guardian. “They’re just not going to put up with abuse by the federal government.”
“From the moment that they left, we have felt freedom on this ranch,” he continued. “We might be the freest place on earth.”
Bundy is protected by his armed body guard Booda Cavalier, who said they are ready for another standoff if the feds were to return in “negative fashion.”
“I have local assets that can be here within 15 minutes, and going up to an hour I could have roughly 75 to 100 people,” Cavalier told the Guardian.
The initial support Bundy gained from conservatives faded after he called blacks “negros” and asked himself if they weren’t “better off as slaves.”
Bundy denies he is a racist and regrets the comments, which he feels were a case of misunderstanding.
“I made a mistake when I called the black negro,” Bundy told the Guardian. “My intent was not to be prejudicial but for blacks to enjoy this freedom.”