Stanton County in Nebraska was rocked with controversy last week when a pair of 20-year-old Honduran nationals were caught with a dead bald eagle.
“On Tuesday afternoon at about 4:00 p.m. the Stanton County Sheriff’s office responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle just northwest of the main Wood Duck Recreation Area that is located about three miles southwest of Stanton,” the office said in a statement Tuesday.
“The vehicle was located in a field and while having contact with the two males it was determined that they had a dead North American Bald Eagle in their possession,” it said.
As anyone who’s spent five minutes in the United States can tell you, few things are more emblematic of raw, unfiltered Americana than the bald eagle.
Killing one of the majestic birds — the nation’s symbol since 1782 — is akin to spitting on the flag.
According to the sheriff’s office, Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez didn’t merely possess an eagle’s cadaver.
“Further investigation revealed that the two had shot and killed the protected national bird in that area and stated they planned on cooking and eating the bird,” the statement said.
The men were cited for “unlawful possession of the eagle,” the sheriff’s office said.
Additionally, Hernandez-Tziquin was cited for not having a driver’s license, the release said.
“More serious charges are possible as the investigation into the unlawful killing continues,” the sheriff’s office said.
Well, those “serious charges” apparently aren’t going to come about with any help from the U.S. government, despite the fact that killing a bald eagle is a violation of the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act punishable by as much as a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger lamented the laissez-faire attitude the feds were taking in this disturbing case, telling The Washington Free Beacon that local residents were “disturbed” and “offended” by the (lack of) response.
The Free Beacon noted the Honduran nationals “are allowed to roam the country freely” because they have only been charged with misdemeanors. Per Nebraska law, that means the two can’t be held in jail until their trial, which is slated for March 28.
“I’m very frustrated with the federal government,” Unger told the outlet.
He said his office would not release photos of the dead eagle because the “very graphic” images contain “lots of blood.”
The exasperated sheriff also went on Fox News to lament the Biden administration’s inaction, saying his community was in an “uproar.”
“People locally that I’ve talked to are quite upset, and they wish for something to be done. And the federal government is the one that really has the authority and the ability to prosecute these gentlemen to the highest degree,” Unger told “Fox & Friends.”
The sheriff said every time he’s tried to reach out to someone, anyone, to help move this case forward, he has run into difficulty — and he is “yet to speak to a human.”
So suspected illegal immigrants are accused of committing a heinous crime, and Biden’s flaccid stance on illegal immigration is preventing any actual justice from occurring. Where have Americans heard that story before?
Alas, this tragic story does feel rather fitting in Biden’s America, where illegal immigrants are more likely to receive a free iPhone and a government job than anything resembling justice.
Despite the bald eagle being an indelible representation of this country since its founding, the Biden administration can’t be bothered to lift a finger after 0ne was callously butchered.
It’s sad, but not nearly as sad as how unsurprising it is.