October 20, 2010 Wild Horse Protest
Carson City, NV
"No Blind Eye to Corruption!"

This notice was posted by Willis Lamm for the Northern Nevada Planning Group

Wild horse advocates, particularly those in Northern Nevada, are requested to attend a protest and press conference in response to what was originally described as a directive from Governor Gibbons⁽¹⁾ to remove numbers of Virginia Range horses. This action is in response to horses crossing US-50 near the city limits of Carson City to get to an unfenced "pasture" being irrigated by the Governor's Deputy Chief of Staff Lynn Hettrick.

The protest will take place in front of the Office of the Nevada Attorney General at 100 North Carson Street from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM.⁽³⁾ Signs may be brought and signs will also be provided by participating wild horse groups.

Participants are requested to rendezvous in front of the State Legislature Building to organize the signs and handout materials, and to be briefed on the local rules that apply to public demonstrations.

The reason for protesting in front of the Attorney General's office, and for the theme to be "No Blind Eye to Corruption," addresses the failure of the Attorney General to respond effectively to accusations of corruption in the Department of Agriculture.⁽²⁾ Allegations include falsifying documents, illegally selling Virginia Range horses to kill buyers and attempted extortion (threatening to kill orphan foals if favors weren't paid to the Director of Agriculture and illegal agreements weren't signed.) Five recently removed Virginia Range horses are presently at the Fallon Livestock Exchange awaiting purchase by the kill buyers where they were illegally taken by the Nevada Department of Agriculture. (The Department, over a period of two years, repeatedly violated state laws by not publishing the required legal notices and sending the horses out unbranded.)

For additional information regarding attending this protest, please contact Carrol Abel at hiddenvalleyhorse@yahoo.com or by calling 775-461-2121.

Please note:

This protest is specific to the Virginia Range horse issue, not BLM. Organizers are requesting that signs relate to the Virginia Range horses, mustangs in general and corruption in the Department of Agriculture. At this event signs specific to BLM horse issues will just confuse the public and media. There should be sufficient signs for those needing them.

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND THE DEMONSTRATION but wish to help, you can register your concerns with the following individuals whom we feel really need to hear from you.

Office of the Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto: 775-684-1100
Email- [email protected]

Governor Gibbons: 775-684-5670
Email: http://gov.state.nv.us/Contact_Us_NORTHX.htm

Nevada Department of Agriculture:

JoAnn Mothershead 775-738-8076
Tony Lesperance 775-353-3613
Email- [email protected]

Other Contacts:

Fallon Livestock Exchange 775-867-2020
Email- [email protected]

Please mark your calendars to make calls and send emails at least one day this week!

Please review these related documents

• Talking Points: Tony Lesperance and the Dept. of Agriculture

• Talking Points: Catherine Cortez Masto and the NV Attorney General's Ofc.

• Media Talking Points

Footnotes

(1) As of Monday the Governor's Office and the Department of Agriculture offered differing stories regarding this "directive," with NDoA claiming the Governor signed it and the Governor's office claiming no knowledge of it. We now have a copy of this directive and it did not originate from Governor Gibbons or his office. The directive can be viewed here.

(2) Advocates were advised Monday by Attorney General Masto's office that upper level staff were not aware of these complaints. If this is true, there may be some communications problems within the Attorney General's staff. Hopefully this explanation is valid and these matters can be resolved promptly. Regardless, our message should be heard "loud and clear" on Wednesday.

(3) The protest is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in front of the Office of the Attorney General, 100 N. Carson St., Carson City, NV. Staging will take place across the street in front of the State Legislature Building. Participants are expected to conduct themselves in a nonconfrontational manner and respect other citizens who may be using public areas.