YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Federal agents have raided a cigarette maker on the Yakama Indian Reservation.
The raid came a day after King Mountain Tobacco sued Washington state and Attorney General Rob McKenna alleging violations of the Yakama Nation’s 1855 treaty rights.
A search warrant gave agents permission to seize company records and computer equipment, but an affidavit explaining the purpose of the raid was not included. A copy of the search warrant was anonymously faxed to the Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper on Wednesday.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, King Mountain claims the state is illegally trying to collect a penalty stemming from the 46-state tobacco settlements in 1998. The lawsuit says the tribe’s treaty guarantees it can get goods to market “free of any fees, tolls or other impediments.”
