RENO, NV (AP) — Burning Man organizers are threatening to sue federal officials over a dramatic increase in traffic stops of vehicles bound for the annual counter-culture festival in the Nevada desert 100 miles north of Reno.
The Reno Gazette Journal reported Friday the organization's lawyer sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs calling for an immediate halt to the "unconstitutional" tactic.
Special counsel Adam Belsky also demanded federal officials preserve all records related to the traffic stops and searches on a state highway passing through Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal land.
The weeklong event that begins at midnight Sunday is expected to attract 80,000 people to the Black Rock Desert.
Belsky says many of the traffic stops are attempts to intimidate and harass travelers doing nothing more than passing through the reservation on a state-maintained highway.