he owed millions of dollars in fees for grazing on land that didn't belong to him and had lost two separate court cases dealing with it. and then supported and instigated an armed stand off when the cops showed up after 20 years of trying to get this guy to comply. "tucked tail and ran" is just sensationalist horseshit. the BLM de-escalated the situation because they were dealing with a bunch of armed psychopaths and, i assume, didn't want another ruby ridge on their hands.
it's fine though. when he dies they'll just put a lien on his estate until the fees are paid for. problem solved.