KUTV News -- A man is being questioned by police at the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management in Downtown Salt Lake City. It's possible he was deliberately trying to run up bids on controversial oil and gas leases during, an auction that drew strong protest today. Picketers demonstrated outside the BLM office in advance of the auction. Those demonstrations were peaceful.
But inside, the man, tentatively identified as bidder #70, was ushered out of the auction room by authorities. The move occurred after the man, who may have ties to an environmental group, successfully won a number of leases with high bids.
It was an unusual occurrence for meetings that happen quarterly and are often uneventful. Oil and gas companies seek the leases on public land for exploration.
The federal government and the sate of Utah split proceeds from the auction, and also share in royalties for energy produced.
2 News captured images of the alleged fake bidder, but the man would not answer our questions. Join us for more on 2 News at 5 and 6pm.
