Folks On The San Juan Ridge Have Always Been - Independent, Shall We Say

Whether peaceable hippies or righteous rednecks, folks on the San Juan Ridge have always done things their own way:

A homeowner on the San Juan Ridge allegedly threatened two U.S. Census workers with a machine gun and a crossbow in a “dramatic confrontation” less than a week after census workers began local visits.

...No injuries were reported in what Trinidad called a “dramatic confrontation” on Friday, which is under investigation by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

A Nevada County census worker called 911 Friday evening to report a man on the 18000 block of Cruzon Grade Road aimed a crossbow at her earlier that afternoon.

She said he threatened her with a machine gun, although she did not see the weapon.

“Two census workers went to the residence, which had a no-trespassing sign,” said Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal, adding that trespassing laws don't apply to public officials.

“They went past the sign and went to the residence, and the resident became very confrontational,” Royal said. “He said he was going to grab a submachine gun, trying to scare them off the property. They decided it would be best to leave, and he followed them down the driveway with a crossbow in his hand.”

The two federal employees got in their car and, as they were leaving, the man allegedly pointed the crossbow at them, they said.