Blackhawk helicopters are very common sights in that area; Ft Bliss, Holloman AFB, and the White Sands Missile Range employ them in significant numbers. I used to see them all the time while at Holloman and up in Cloudcroft. People on antennas could have been routine maintenance.
Having been curious about and researched Sheriff House, I think I have a plausible theory about why he was kept in the dark. It's pretty obvious he's a high profile, self promoter. He strikes me as the type who would have made a media event of his department arresting a local child pornographer. I could understand the FBI wanting to keep their investigation quiet if they were looking to break-up an international electronic child porn network. They wouldn't want a local yokel, especially one known for grandstanding and not playing well with other law enforcement agencies, to affect their bigger picture efforts for thirty seconds airtime on small town TV news for one arrest.
Still don't get shutting the place down, but that too may become apparent as more of the story is released.
Having been curious about and researched Sheriff House, I think I have a plausible theory about why he was kept in the dark. It's pretty obvious he's a high profile, self promoter. He strikes me as the type who would have made a media event of his department arresting a local child pornographer. I could understand the FBI wanting to keep their investigation quiet if they were looking to break-up an international electronic child porn network. They wouldn't want a local yokel, especially one known for grandstanding and not playing well with other law enforcement agencies, to affect their bigger picture efforts for thirty seconds airtime on small town TV news for one arrest.
Still don't get shutting the place down, but that too may become apparent as more of the story is released.