LAS VEGAS — Tensions have subsided and the crowds of armed militia around rancher Cliven Bundy have largely dispersed, but the situation is far from resolved.

Federal officials are exploring their legal options, and Metro Police confirm that an investigation is ongoing. What has not been made public is just how close things came to an all-out gun battle. Some of those who were on the front lines spoke exclusively to the I-Team’s George Knapp.

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Approximately 30 Metro officers stood between a crowd of 400 heavily armed, self- described militia and the federal employees who had gathered a few hundred head of Bundy’s cattle. As the crowd swelled and tempers flared, many in the crowd tried to goad the police, hurling taunts and insults.

“They had no respect for authority. Everything that you can think of to call a human being, animals, everything,” Jenkins said.

One person in the crowd even asked Jenkins if he was ready to die.

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“It was a scary point in itself. They were in my face yelling profanities and pointing weapons. The Bundy son himself, that I was negotiating with, Dave, he did not do that, but all the associated people around him did do that,” Lombardo said.

More: I-Team: Police Faced Possible ‘Bloodbath’ at Bundy Protest - 8 News NOW