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Since so much of their extremist worldview hinges on the idea that the county sheriff is the highest authority in the land, the 鈥渃onstitutionalists鈥� who seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., last week have been extremely vocal about their displeasure with Sheriff David Ward of Harney County.

Ward, has failed in his to defend ranchers in his county against the federal government. It鈥檚 widely believed the sheriff is one of the chief targets of the 鈥渃itizens grand jury鈥� the Ammon Bundy-led invaders plan to convene soon.

So the militiamen recently turned to a sheriff they believed to be more sympathetic to their cause: 聽Glenn Palmer, the sheriff of Grant County, which is adjacent to Harney County directly to the north.

the men showed up in the town of John Day and arranged a meeting at a local restaurant. In the end, they failed to get what they came for 鈥撯�撀燩almer鈥檚 assistance.

鈥淚 had no idea who I was meeting with when we had lunch yesterday,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 walked in, I realized who they were and I sat and listened to them. ... They actually wanted me to come down there and make a stand, and I said, 鈥榥ot without the sheriff鈥檚 blessing.鈥欌��

The men had reason to believe that Palmer would be sympathetic to their cause. Palmer calls himself a 鈥渃onstitutional sheriff鈥� and is not only a member in good standing of the far-right Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), but was named . He also traveled to Washington, D.C., in 2014 to participate in a CSPOA-led meeting with two U.S. senators about immigration.

Palmer鈥檚 claim to fame among their ranks with the U.S. Forest Service over policing powers in Grant County. Palmer told USFS officials that their rangers only had jurisdiction in the federal building in John Day.

And while the sheriff was unwilling to go to Harney County to help bolster the Bundys鈥� cause, Palmer that while he has 鈥渁 pretty good working relationship鈥� with the neighboring sheriff, he was also unwilling to go to Burns to support Sheriff Ward.

鈥淎bout the only thing (Ward) really told me is I鈥檓 welcome to come down there if I would shame and humiliate them into giving up and I said, 鈥楴o, I won鈥檛 do that,鈥濃�� Palmer said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not in the business of denouncing or shaming or humiliating anybody.鈥�

Palmer described the participants in the takeover as 鈥減atriots,鈥� and generally spoke of the occupation in glowing terms: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 brought some things to light that might not have otherwise got the attention that they did. 鈥� I do believe that the resolution and solution to the way this is going to be handled, if it鈥檚 handled properly, could have a long-lasting effect on our county as well.鈥�

He was also clear in his view that such an outcome would require the government to make concessions.

鈥淚 believe the government is going to have to concede to something,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think these guys are going to give up without knowing that they鈥檝e done something that benefits the people of our country or our region.鈥�

CSPOA president Richard Mack, who participated in the rally in Burns supporting two local ranchers whose imminent imprisonment served as the Bundys鈥� excuse for the takeover later that day, initially backed away from the protest, saying the 鈥淐SPOA does not support or condone the occupation.鈥�

But in a video released earlier this week, Mack told that while he disagreed with the takeover tactically, he fully supported the ideology behind it, explaining that it was a logical response to federal 鈥渢yranny.鈥�

鈥淭he media that wants to label Ammon Bundy as a nut and extremist, that is a lie,鈥� he said. "I don鈥檛 agree with what Ammon鈥檚 doing, I鈥檝e told Ammon so. But Ammon Bundy is a friend of mine; he is a good man, he is a good person. Anybody who knows him, they鈥檒l tell you the same.鈥�

Mack not only excoriated David Ward in the interview 鈥� saying 鈥渢he sheriff of Harney County should have stopped this鈥濃�� he called for sheriffs around the country to begin arresting federal officials, who he claimed were just as guilty of arson: 鈥淓very sheriff now, in this country, needs to start filing charges against federal officials who do the same thing, and charge those people with domestic terrorism and arson and put them in prison, just as they did the Hammonds.鈥�

For his part, Ward has been clear and outspoken about the antigovernment militiamen who have invaded his county, telling them repeatedly that they need to pack up and 鈥済o home.鈥�

Ward recently excoriated the Bundy group and other militiamen for the reports of intimidating and threatening behavior that have beset residents of Burns since even before the standoff got under way. , some federal employees have been harassed in town while grocery shopping or running errands, while others have reported vehicles following them and parking outside their homes.

"The people on the refuge 鈥� and those who they have called to our community 鈥撀爋bviously have no consideration for the wishes or needs of the people of Harney County," Ward said. "If they did, they, too, would work to bring this situation to a peaceful close."

Ward, who has from the militiamen鈥檚 supporters, has received the official support of the Western States Sheriffs Association, which noted that 鈥渢he WSSA does not support efforts of any individual or groups who utilize intimidation, threats or fear in order to further an agenda.鈥�

He also has broad support in Harney County, where local crowds gathered to discuss the standoff for his tough approach to the militiamen. 鈥淭his county is a united family and we don鈥檛 need people to come here from someplace else and tell us how to live our lives,鈥� Ward told one community gathering. They gave him a standing ovation.