Permitting individuals to openly violate applicable laws, threaten physical violence against enforcement officials and encourage others to join their unlawful behavior makes a mockery of the US justice system and emboldens other wrongdoers. When those violators are wealthy land owners, this only reinforces the widespread belief that our laws do not apply equally to the wealthy.
The failure to take any tangible action against Cliven Bundy, and the more than one million dollars he has taken, has now enabled his sons to seize federal property in an armed insurgency.
While seeking to avoid escalation is a laudable goal, the failure to take any action, even mere collections actions against assets owned by Cliven Bundy, is an abdication of duty that will cause additional lawlessness.