In an era where we have countless public lands enemies, whether its mining operations, mass logging, housing developers, federal and state governments, among many others, I didn't have cults on my Bingo card. Yet, here we are.
Now, we've talked about the Free Land Holders Committee before, as a few months back, the former members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cult out of Colorado set up shop and erected a bunch of barbed wire fencing around a plot of land they call theirs. There was just one problem, that land was owned by the federal government, not the cult.
And the locals who recreated in the San Juan National Forest and derived their revenue from the area, were none too pleased by the cult's annexation of the land. After they began discovering the barbed wire fencing along well-used trails and sections of the forest, they got together and began taking it all down themselves, even though the local sheriffs have been wary about those efforts due to possible violence between the groups.
But that all might be mute, at least legally, as the federal government is now suing the Free Land Holders over their acquisition of public lands.
According to the US Attorney's Office, "The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that Patrick Pipkin, Brian Hammon, and a group of unidentified persons unlawfully placed fencing, without permission, on federal public lands near Mancos, Colorado. The lawsuit, which was filed in the federal district court in the District of Colorado, seeks to clarify that such activity is not permitted and to prevent future unlawful fencing of the area."
For those who haven't read RideApart's original coverage of the story, Pipkin has become the defacto leader of the cult, representing himself as the group's "ambassador" and claimed that they owned the land and that the original sale to the federal government was null and void. "The Forest Service don’t own the land. It’s not in their name. It’s just managed by the Forest Service," Pipkin told The Denver Post, adding, "I don’t think it’s mine. It’s the Free Land Holders Committee who has the jurisdiction and the authority.” But the land has been owned by the feds since the 1920s, which the lawsuit reiterates.
"In its complaint, the United States alleges that in October 2024, Mr. Pipkin, Mr. Hammon, and other unidentified individuals erected miles of fencing on public land in the San Juan National Forest that is owned by the United States and managed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The public uses this land for many purposes, including recreation and grazing. The defendants used fenceposts and barbed wire to erect the fencing, which obstructed free passage across a large area of this land," states the AG's office.
For his part, despite repeated warnings by both federal and state agencies, as well as a growing opposition of area locals, the group has continually posted "notices" around the area stating it owns the land. This lawsuit, however, hopes to end the looming standoff by essentially telling the Free Land Holders Committee members to "quit f-ing around or find out." That, however, hasn't always worked out in the past with cults around these parts.
As for what happens next, that's yet to be determined. Locals are continually taking down the barbed wire fencing, as well as signs. And the feds and local law enforcement agencies are doing what they can to both ensure public safety and keep the peace between the groups. But something will have to be done in order to ensure public lands remain public, and not behind an illegal barbed wire fence.
You can read the full complaint here.
