James L. Buchal, of the Portland law firm of Murphy & Buchal, spoke to the group that met at the Jefferson Square Shopping Mall about the principles of civil disobedience.

Among the participants were several people who participated in Wednesday’s opening of the A Canal.

Buchal has gained notoriety for filing a brief in federal court defending the Grants Pass Irrigation District’s Savage Rapids Dam, and has authored a book on the “myth” of salmon restoration efforts.

Buchal described the outcome of the federal brief as an incomplete victory, adding, “But they still have their water.”

Reporters were asked to leave Thursday’s meeting at the mall. Stan Thompson, a Klamath Falls resident and one of the participants in Wednesday’s demonstration at the A Canal headgates, said several people in the group were concerned about possibly being prosecuted for their actions in opening the canal.

“These people are just farmers faced with a complete loss of their way of life,” said Thompson. “They are worried.”

Earlier in the day, Buchal and the group sought assurances from Klamath County District Attorney Ed Caleb that the people who participated in reopening the A Canal headgates Wednesday would not be prosecuted.

“We talked about the laws regarding property and trespass,” said Caleb. “There are some folks in the group that do not relish the idea of going to jail. I told them the sheriff and I are still of the opinion that damage to federal property is a federal issue.

“What really struck me was that some of the people in that group didn’t realize a possible outcome of civil disobedience could be arrest and prosecution,” Caleb said. “I made it clear if things got to the point where somebody got hurt, every law enforcement agency, federal and local, would become involved.”

Asked his opinion on the inaction of the Klamath Falls Police Department and Sheriff Tim Evinger as the headgates were opened Wednesday, Caleb said, “I think both agencies are attempting to exercise restraint. If we have learned anything from history, it would be that restraint is called for in the situation we had Monday.

“These are law-abiding citizens who have reached a point where their frustrations are extremely high. I think the Klamath Falls Police Department and Sheriff Evinger have dealt with the situation professionally and with reason.”

In a July 4 essay posted on the Internet, the lawyer said the opening of the headgates “will tend to polarize the community, because action threatens efforts at consensus.

“But that is a good thing. Many in the Klamath Basin have urged compromise, conciliation, and consensus with federal officials and their environmentalist allies at every step of the way.”

But, he said, environmentalists “have never heeded calls for consensus, which is why they are no in a position to force others to see consensus with them.”

Buchal praised Evinger for not intervening in the headgate opening. He suggested that law enforcement agencies go further, by enforcing laws such as speed limits against federal employees, arresting them if they go 26 mph in a 25-mph zone. He suggested that the community shun federal employees, refusing to sell food and gas to them.

He said that should be part of a communitywide campaign of civil disobedience, led by local officials.

“If local politicians stand in the way of the campaign,” Buchal wrote, “the first part of the campaign is to recall them, and put fighters into the local offices.”

Reporter Kehn Gibson covers public safety and courts. He can be reached at 885-4425, (800) 275-0982 or by e-mail at kgibson@heraldandnews.com.