There is an eerie feel to what’s going on in San Juan County and surrounding areas of rural southern Utah that I am surprised has not attracted more national attention and outrage.
I’m talking about the ridiculous felony charges the San Juan County attorney’s office filed against an environmental activist and her husband for closing a gate on a rancher’s grazing area and the judge’s refusal to consider evidence showing just how bogus the prosecution’s allegations are against Colorado resident Rose Chilcoat and her husband, Mark Franklin.
San Juan County Attorney Kendall Laws, in filing the charges, argues that Chilcoat and Franklin tried to kill rancher Zane Odell’s cattle by closing a gate to his corral and blocking the cattle’s access to drinking water.