Wayne Hill, Shawna Cox, Cliven Bundy, and Carol Bundy in front of the picture painted by Jon McNaughton, St. George, Utah, Dec. 6, 2014 | Photo by Brett Brostrom, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – At an event held at the Abbey Inn in St. George Friday night, rancher Cliven Bundy introduced a new book written by Shawna Cox and a picture painted by artist Jon McNaughton commemorating the events that took place at his ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada, in April between the Bundy family and the Bureau of Land Management.

“We are gonna fight, whatever it takes,” Bundy said. “We’ve got a job to do. Let’s get’er done. I want to do a tribute to the Independent party. I want you to look at this flag, and I want you to think of the Independent American Party. I see the Independent American Party pulling from the red, and pulling from the blue, and I see them pulling from these other constitutional parties, and I see America pulling together accomplishing something in the future. We have a future in America.”

The event, attended by about 50 people and hosted by the Independent American Party events committee coordinator Wayne Hill. Hill voiced his thoughts on why that standoff was important.

“I’m really, truly excited to be here tonight to help launch a couple of things that we haven’t seen before,” Hill said. “We started the Independent American Party to give you truth. I love people like this. It is amazing. You’ve got a guy here who gives his life to defend and to protect this family. What are we willing to do?”

Hill ran for Congress as an independent in 2010 and again this year.

Many of those involved in the Bundy-BLM believe that a higher power played a role in the incident. The book gives the perspective of Cox, who was present at the height of the controversy.

“This is the first time I’ve written a book,” Cox said. “Because of many wonderful things that I saw when I was at the ranch, I was there for two months. My book tells the story, but I knew in my heart that Heavenly Father wanted me to tell this story, because there was so many spiritual things that were taking place that the American people didn’t see.”

McNaughton also spent time on the Bundy ranch during the confrontation. A well-respected artist, McNaughton focuses his work on patriotic and religious subjects. His new piece features Bundy riding a horse, holding an American flag.

“I want them to think about what I consider to be the meaning,” McNaughton said, addressing the gathering via Skype. “The way that you look at it is really a reflection of the kind of person that you are. If you see racism, hate, oppression, religious diatribe, then you probably won’t like the painting.”

According to its website:

The Independent American Party’s objective is to express and advocate independence. This is in contrast to dependence and political systems which deprive the American citizen of their God-given inalienable rights.

Background

Cliven Bundy has been at odds with the BLM for over 20 years now. The BLM has said that Bundy’s cattle have been illegally grazing on government-managed public lands since 1993 when Bundy quit paying grazing fees. Tensions mounted and peaked in April 2014.

Bundy received several warnings to remove his cattle, being threatened that the cattle would be seized and sold at auction if he didn’t comply. Bundy refused to acknowledge the authority of the federal agency over the public lands. The tension between the two parties ultimately culminated in a standoff between the BLM and the Bundys and their supporters on April 12. The standoff came to a peaceful end when once the BLM released the cattle it had already gathered.

Resources

Independent American Party website

Art by Jon McNaughton website

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