Protesters enter Mingo National Wildlife Refuge

PUXICO, Mo. -- Although they were told by federal employees they would be cited for trespassing, several in a 20-person group that gathered Sunday afternoon outside Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Missouri crossed onto closed federal lands to protest the government shutdown.

"This is to get some knowledge out there that the federal government has its fingers in everything, including our own land in our own states, and, out of spite, they'll shut it all down," said Brian Bollmann, a Jackson resident who participated in what he described as a peaceful protest rally.

The group was met by a federal park service employee who oversees the region and warned they would be breaking the law if they went into the park, but those who did were not arrested or ticketed Sunday, Bollmann said.

A partial federal government shutdown that began last week closed national parks, lands, trails, monuments and other sites along with forcing many federal employees to take furloughs and other agencies to scale back services. The shutdown came after Congress could not come to an agreement on a budget.

Pertinent address:

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Puxico, Mo.