Burning Man threatens to sue Feds over traffic stops

Jennifer Kane | Reno Gazette Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Burning Man Temple sneak peek Architect Arthur Mamou-Mani talks about his inspiration for this year's Burning Man Temple, called Galaxia.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect new information regarding the expected duration of the ongoing law enforcement operations en route to Burning Man and the status of citation records.

The Burning Man organization has written a letter to top federal officials threatening a federal lawsuit in the wake of continuing traffic stops slowing vehicles headed to the 80,000-person event, which begins midnight Sunday.

The organization called for an immediate stop to the "improper and apparently unconstitutional behavior" and also demanded that all involved federal agencies preserve all records related to the traffic stops in a letter obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal.

IF IT HAPPENS TO YOU: What to know if you get pulled over on way to Burning Man

The projected end of the law enforcement operation is Sept. 5, according to Pyramid Lake Police Department Lt. Michael Durham. Burning Man lasts for a week, through Sept. 3.

"Many of the (traffic stop) tactics are attempts to intimidate and harass travelers who are doing nothing more than passing through the Reservation on a state-maintained highway. This is unacceptable and this behavior should not be tolerated by agency leaders nor the public," said Adam Belsky, special counsel to the Burning Man organization in the Wednesday letter.

The letter is addressed to Mr. Darryl LaCounte, acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other top BIA officials in Washington, D.C.

WHAT THE FEDS SAY: Feds on stops: It's not about Burning Man. It's about drugs.

Burners have experienced dozens of stops in the area of Nixon, a small town halfway between Reno and the Burning Man site in Northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert. The town is on Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal land, as is a long stretch of State Route 447, which passes through Nixon and is the only main road to the site.

Burning Man organizers argued in the letter that the stops have not only slowed internal preparations for the event, but the stops could affect their ability to provide ice, portable toilet maintenance and public services at the event. Law enforcement have been stopping vehicles for having a tire touch the center line, for going 3 mph over the posted speed limit and having a partially blocked license plate.

ARE THE STOPS LEGAL?: Traffic stops 'aggressive, unconstitutional' on tribal land

"Given the current situation and the likelihood that litigation will be necessary to remedy these violations, we request that the (Bureau of Indian Affairs), (Department of Interior) and (Bureau of Land Management) and any and all other governmental agencies involved preserve all evidence relation to the (traffic stops)," Belsky wrote.

The traffic to the event is expected to peak this weekend, with at least 20,000 people traveling on State Route 447, a rural, two-lane highway.

"It appears that the BIA agents are unconstitutionally targeting attendees of the Burning Man event in violation of their First Amendment rights of free expression and of freedom to assemble," Belsky wrote.

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The traffic stops have nothing to do with Burning Man, according to BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling. Rather, the stops are part of an effort to crack down on a nationwide opioid epidemic on tribal lands initiated by Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Darling said.

The task force is working to achieve President Donald Trump's mission to end the opioid epidemic in the U.S, according to Darling.

Although Darling said that the timing was purely coincidental in terms of the overlap with Burning Man, it is widely known that many people do partake in controlled substances at the event. More than 50 people each year are arrested at the event, most on drug-related charges, and dozens more are cited for drug-related violations, according to local and federal law enforcement reports.

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The Bureau has not collected the data on how successful the task force's operation has been thus far, but Darling said that she would describe other operations earlier this year in New Mexico and Arizona as "successful." The new task force seized $4.79 million in drugs, including but not limited to opioids, from tribal reservations in Arizona in May and more than $2.5 million in drugs from tribal reservations in New Mexico in April.

There has been confusion over whether the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe agreed to conduct the operation during Burning Man since Bureau officials insisted that the tribe wanted to take part in the opioid crackdown and that the tribe approved an agreement with the Bureau weeks ago.

While Tribal Chairman Vinton Hawley released a statement that the tribe was cooperating with the BIA, the letter from Burning Man organizers said the tribe "was not consulted, and that the BIA action would have commenced even if the (tribe) had refused to participate."

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The Pyramid Lake Police Department said that it will not release the records of how many citations, arrests and seizures the tribal and federal officers have made until 30 days after the operation concludes, according to Durham. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said that all records will be kept by tribal police, though Durham said the Bureau will keep its own records.