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Supporters of San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman believe his ATV ride in Recapture Canyon a year ago ranks in the annals of human history.
To that end, they have produced a T-shirt that emblazons Lyman's face among a group of freedom fighters and civil rights icons — Rosa Parks, Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph, Gandhi and "Tank Man" from the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.
The T-shirt has been posted on a Facebook page and reportedly is being sold in Blanding to raise funds for the embattled county leader.
For his part, Lyman is denying any role in designing or producing the fundraising swag.
But he likes it, nonetheless.
"I am not thrilled to see my image on a T-shirt," Lyman wrote in a comment on the Facebook post. "It is a bit embarrassing, but the underlying sentiment is important and I am glad to see people thinking about what the protest in May, 2014 was about.
"Of course I don't place myself in the company of the great and brave reformers depicted on the shirt," he added. "I do have affinity for those great people, and I would have added Nelson Mandela."
For others in San Juan County, the T-shirt is just another embarrassment for a community that has been split by Lyman's anti-federal government campaign.
Mark Maryboy, a former San Juan County Commissioner and Navajo Nation Council delegate, said there is no comparison between Lyman's protest ride and the experience of American Indians.
"I think Native Americans would be appalled to see something like that," Maryboy said of the T-shirt.
Lyman was convicted in May of conspiracy for his role in the May 2014 protest ride. He faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine as well as a hefty restitution bill when he is sentenced July 15.
His supporters have been raising funds for his defense — which reportedly may cost up to $100,000. At a meeting last week at the State Constitutional Defense Council in Salt Lake City, Lyman's county commission colleagues dropped $100 bills on a table to kick-start his legal defense fund.
For some, Lyman's post-conviction fundraising campaign is ironic. After being accused of destroying sensitive Native American archaeological sites last year in Recapture Canyon, his supporters then used a revered American Indian figure — Joseph — to promote their cause.
And Lyman and other protesters have continued to argue their ride in the canyon was not illegal — so it would not qualify as civil disobedience, like the actions of African American Rosa Parks or Indian Mahatma Gandhi.
Bluff resident Elisabeth Bennett said she spotted the shirt being promoted on the "Blanding's 24/7 Yard Sale" Facebook group page. She posted a reply calling the shirt "offensive," which prompted accusations that she does not believe in the U.S. Constitution.
"My feelings about the Constitution are pretty irrelevant," she said. "I don't believe in cultural appropriation and, in my eyes, this is appropriating icons unrelated to Phil Lyman's personal needs."
Bennett said she has remained relatively neutral on the issue of Lyman's protest ride up Recapture Canyon. But she said his supporters crossed a line by equating Lyman's cause to the civil rights struggles of persecuted groups.
"To me it was really indicative of systemic racism, where we think we can ride the coattails of other people's issues without really paying homage or value," she said.
Meanwhile, Maryboy is wondering why Lyman, who has been convicted of a crime, has not stepped down from his seat on the county commission.
"The courts made a decision and said that he broke the law," Maryboy said. "It seems like that should have been a clear message to him that what he's doing is not right."