As a small-"l" libertarian, these kinds of stories make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. In all seriousness, people willing to stand up against bureaucratic mistreatment is one of the signs of a healthy republic. I'm not sure we still have that.
I recall reading the same story on reddit in a TIL - but it was paraphrased as a looney mayor who simply declared war on the US as a joke. However this story depicts it much more accurately by giving attention to the cause which was the grievance of having tourists blocked and the offense at the explanation offered of "non of your business".
I do think that spirit is still there though. They handled their bureaucratic mistreatment very very well. I'm not sure its a repeatable solution.
The Federal reaction to the Mariel boatlift was heavy-handed and didn't return to normal after. That made the residents furious at being treated like prisoners in Siberia (from their viewpint).
These exact same roadblocks exist today throughout parts of the southwest united states, but they have (to my knowledge) not been challenged by their respective states. It's kind of terrifying that they continue to be allowed to exist.
