Vol. 80/No. 11 March 21, 2016
(front page)
Idaho protest: ‘Arrest sheriffs who killed rancher
Jack Yantis’
Yantis had been called by police to put down one of his bulls that had been hit by a car near his ranch. Yantis’ wife Donna and his nephew Rowdy Paradis were with him when he took aim at the bull, which was suffering after the deputies shot it but failed to kill it. He was spun around by one of the deputies, who grabbed the scope of Yantis’ rifle, and then shot by the other.
His wife and nephew tried to go to his aid, but were stopped by the cops and handcuffed. Donna Yantis suffered a heart attack.
“The sheriffs had no reason to have their guns drawn, let alone kill him,” Jerry Yantis, another of Jack’s nephews, told the Militant.
It’s been 126 days since the shooting, co-chair Rebecca Barrow told the rally, and “we have heard nothing from the state of Idaho.”
“We don’t trust the police department. If they can murder somebody in Council they can murder anyone in this nation,” she said.
A large banner at the front of the march to the sheriffs’ office said, “Justice for Jack.” Signs included “Ranchers lives matter,” “Your badge is not a license to kill,” and one carried by the Socialist Workers Party that read “Prosecute sheriffs who shot Jack Yantis.” People driving and walking past the protest waved and honked in support.
Several at the rally pointed to the connection between the problems that ranchers and farmers face in Idaho and those that led to recent protests and the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are trying to put ranchers and farmers out of business so that the federal government can acquire their land, said Iva Henderson, who runs a small farm in Pollock.
Alvin Yantis, Jack’s brother, told the Militant his ranch was started up by his grandmother decades ago under the Homestead Act. He was recently given a noncompliance order. “We paid for the rights to graze our cattle on federal land and now they are saying we overgraze,” he said, an example of the harassment ranchers face.
Jerry Yantis said he went to Oregon and took part in protests against the killing of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, one of the occupiers of the Malheur refuge, who was killed in an ambush by the FBI and Oregon State Police Jan. 26. Finicum and other participants in the occupation were on their way to speak at a community meeting in John Day, Oregon.
“We tried to have a meeting in Halfway, Oregon, to demand justice for both my uncle and for Finicum,” Yantis said. “No place would rent us a space for a peaceful meeting. We ended up doing it in someone’s backyard.”
Letters of solidarity were sent to the rally by Anita Wills and Dolores Piper, both of whom have been involved in protests against police brutality in the San Francisco Bay area.
“When reading the police account of Mr. Yantis’ killing, it seemed like déjà vu because it is the stock answer we get here,” wrote Wills, who is active in the National Stolen Lives Tour. “We here in the Bay Area send solidarity to the people who are standing up for Jack Yantis. We want justice for all of our murdered loved ones.”
The Yantis family and organizers of the action welcomed support from other areas. They thanked people who came from other parts of Idaho, Oregon, Salt Lake City and Seattle. Many said they didn’t know Yantis personally but wanted to show solidarity.
Rally co-chairs McLaughlin and Barrow said they want to get Yantis’ case more widely known and plan to hold further protests.
Related articles:
Seattle march protests cop killing of Che Taylor
Protests hit FBI, Oregon cops ambush of Finicum
US gov’t expands frame-up against Nevada ranchers
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