How Should a Patriot Act?

Remember this? Back in April, both of Nevada's US Senators appeared on KSNV/News 3's "What's Your Point?". Both were asked about #BundyRanch. Yet while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) refused to mince words regarding the Cliven Bundy fiasco. Senator Dean Heller (R), on the other hand, celebrated the Bundy Gang as "patriots".



Senator Heller was partially correct. They're anything but real patriots, since they seek to undermine the very foundation of this nation. However, many of the Bundy Crew happen to be part of the radical right, xenophobic, anti-government "Patriot Movement". We suspect this wasn't what Senator Heller intended to say...

But he ultimately, though accidentally, gave more credence to what Senator Reid was saying. We, Senator Reid, Rachel Maddow, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a few others tried to warn the #BundyRanch cheerleaders of what they were so eagerly jumping into. The "Patriot Movement" is anything but patriotic, and it's certainly anything but nonviolent and well-intentioned.

On Sunday, Metro Officers Alyn Beck & Igor Soldo were taking their lunch break at the CiCi's Pizza at Nellis & Stewart. It was supposed to be a normal Sunday on the beat. They didn't know this would be their last day on earth. They didn't know they were being targeted by "Patriot Movement" followers Jerad & Amanda Miller. They didn't know they were about to become bloody "sacrifices" for "the start of the revolution".



The Millers proclaimed their act of terror as "the start of the revolution". It's not as if they just thought this up on their own. It's not as if this originated from a vacuum. It's not as if no one noticed what they were saying on Facebook. And it's not as if they were the only "Patriot Movement" figures to threaten violence. (The Millers just happened to follow through on their threats.)

In April, Senator Heller proudly proclaimed all the #BundyRanch agitators to be "patriots". Even though his own staff had briefed him on the severity of what was going down in Bunkerville, he nonetheless endorsed their actions.



And now, two Metro officers and another victim are dead. They're dead because two "Patriot Movement" fans wanted "the start of the revolution". They're dead because Jerad & Amanda Miller had a very disgusting, distorted, and disturbing definition of "patriot". And they're dead because Jerad Miller was able to obtain firearms despite his felony convictions.

In April, the usual G-O-TEA suspects lambasted Senator Reid for daring to speak the truth about the dangerous characters swirling around #BundyRanch. And they cheered Senator Heller when he called them "patriots". What a difference two months can make.