This guy is a rich rancher. He can easily afford to pay the grazing fees for using lands that the taxpayer is paying to uphold and maintain.
Good point. You do realize that he didn't just wake up one day and stop paying his fees, right?
His refusal to pay the fees was due to an environmentalist group getting the area designated as a habitat and limiting the allowed herd sizes. Complying with that change would put his family (been there for over 100 years) and others out of business. Most of the other ranchers gave up and closed their ranches.
Instead, this became one of those rallying cries for the crazy nutters who hate government. They like the benefits of living in a civilized, organized nation, they just don't like playing by the rules and paying their taxes.
Yes and no, much of the outrage came from videos of hundreds of heavily armed troops being sent in to confiscate personal property for a debt that was lower than the operation cost. It was amplified when video was released of agents threatening unarmed protestors.
Many of the "crazy nutters" are there because they believe in the foundations of the country and feel that allowing attack dogs to bite an unarmed protestor and then tazing him when he defends himself is wrong.
They aren't trying to protect him from paying taxes, he is willing to pay the fees he owes.