Oath Keepers Block Mine Access

The man’s stare seeths with anger. He is bearded, maybe 35 years old, slightly overweight but powerful, wearing a camouflage baseball cap with a faded American flag patch. To his right is another large man, arms crossed. To his left, a diminutive young woman, dressed head to toe in camo and wearing a large knife on her hip, is filming my every move. All three are blocking my advance beyond a Forest Service gate that they or their comrades have used to bar the road. They believe they are defending land that is private — a small mining claim for copper, zinc, silver and traces of gold held by George Kornec and Phil Nappo — but that the Forest Service says is national forest. I ask how their day is going, what they have been up to. The middleman snaps back: “We cannot discuss that with you.” The stare. Welcome to the standoff at the White Hope Mine/ Marshall Swearingen , High Country News. More here .

Question: Do you think it’s only a matter of time before there’s a shootout between a government entity and the Oath Keepers that will gain national attention?