LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada rancher whose dispute with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management drew national attention is no longer a Republican.

Cliven Bundy has switched his affiliation to the Independent American Party.

Bundy and his supporters, some of them armed militia members, thwarted a BLM roundup of his cattle near Bunkerville in April.

The BLM says he owes more than $1 million in grazing fees and penalties for trespassing without a permit over 20 years, but he refuses to acknowledge federal authority on public lands.

He and his wife, Carol, signed registration forms to the cheers of supporters at an Independent American Party gathering in Las Vegas on Friday night.

The event was held to honor Bundy for what organizers called “his courage in standing up for state sovereignty.”

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