Aristotle quoting rancher testifies about ‘threats, intimidation and bullying’ by federal agents

(Warning: There are about two minutes of annoying leader noise on this video. Hage is seen at about 19:00, 33:00, 49:45 and 1:38:00.)

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On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on Public Lands conducted a hearing on “Threats, Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Managing Agencies,” featuring a number of Western ranchers, including Wayne N. Hage, whose family has been fighting two federal agencies over grazing and water rights for their ranch near Tonopah for 23 years.

“Yes, it does go several generations,” Hage said in his opening remarks. “In fact, my father and my mother were first involved, filed the first action in the court against the federal government for takings. We’ve buried both of them. The case outlasted them, my dad then, before my dad had died he remarried to Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth of Idaho. We lost her as well and buried her as well.”

Wayne N. Hage testifies before a House subcommittee Tuesday.

Hage told the subcommittee, which includes Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei, about how a federal judge in Nevada found two federal agents’ actions so egregious that he found them in contempt. But nothing was even done about it. One of the two has since retired.

Hage testified that during a hearing federal agency officials from Washington claimed that the two agents conducted themselves just as they should have, even though the judge ruled otherwise. So, these weren’t rogue agents. They were carrying out directions from Washington.

Hage also said he fully expects to face retaliation for his speaking to Congress.

The case, which has cost more than $4 million to wage so far, is on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At one point a judge awarded the family $14 million, but was set aside pending appeals.

In written testimony, which followed somewhat his spoken testimony, Hage stated:

“It is warming to know that with regard to the Courts that we still have the Rule of Law. Although as I have found out it is nearly impossible to defend a persons property and rights in the courts due to the financial burdens and the length of time involved. (My Mother and Father filed the original case and were not able to live long enough to see the end of the litigation. My step Mother died before there was an end to the litigation and it is looking like my siblings and I may be in old age before this is concluded.) However there it is becoming very apparent that there is no rule of law with regard to the employs of the BLM, USFS and perhaps the DOJ, there we have the rule of man. I remind congress that Aristotle explained that the difference between a correct form of government and perverse form of government is that the former is the Rule of Law and the latter is the rule of man.”

Amdoei and another congressman from Colorado have introduced a bill called the Water Rights Protection Act.  It would prohibit federal land agencies from basically extorting water rights from those who use federal land.

Hage suggested that Congress should assess penalties on employees who break the law and violate civil rights under the color of law, that there should be an easier way to be able to hold agencies accountable.

“One of the biggest problems is that they claim their actions are actions of the Federal Government and thus they claim sovereign immunity, Hage explained. “The individual is then forced to go up against the full force and might of the Federal government and prove that it was not an action of the government in order to proceed. This is very difficult to do. We need to take the sovereign immunity away from Federal employs who break the Law.”

Hage was one a half dozen ranchers from Western states to testify before the committee about abuse from federal land agents.