Five Charged in Utah ATV Protest Over Public Land Policies
The federal government this week made moves to respond to months of political protests earlier this year over Bureau of Land Management policies for public lands by charging five people who rode ATVs into a protected Utah canyon last May.
The Bureau of Land Management closed the canyon to motorized use in 2007 to keep wheels off its many archaeological sites, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. But in response, about 50 riders drove into the canyon to denounce what they saw as a gross overreach of federal authority.
“We respect the fact that the citizens of this State have differing and deeply held views regarding the management and use of Recapture Canyon, and recognize that they have the right to express those opinions freely,” Christensen said in a prepared statement. “Nevertheless, those rights must be exercised in a lawful manner and when individuals choose to violate the law, rather than engage in lawful protest, we will seek to hold those individuals accountable under the law.”
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