Thread: Militia takes over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters

Militia takes over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters


Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, participates in the protest march in Burns. He has tried to find a way to keep two local ranchers from reporting to prison Monday.

Les Zaitz | The Oregonian/OregonLive

By Les Zaitz | The Oregonian/OregonLive
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on January 02, 2016 at 6:15 PM, updated January 02, 2016 at 7:24 PM

SHOWDOWN IN BURNS

• Militia takes over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters
• Burns residents confront militia over fears of violence
• Oregon ranchers' fight with feds sparks militias' interest
• Militiamen, ranchers in showdown for soul of Burns

All Stories

Updated at 6:15 p.m.
The Bundy family of Nevada joined with hard-core militiamen Saturday to take over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, vowing to occupy the remote federal outpost 50 miles southeast of Burns for years.

The occupation came shortly after an estimated 300 marchers – militia and local citizens both – paraded through Burns to protest the prosecution of two Harney County ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond, who are to report to prison on Monday.

Among the occupiers is Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, and two of his brothers. Militia members at the refuge claimed they had as many as 150 supporters with them.

The refuge was closed and unoccupied for the holiday weekend.

In phone interviews from inside the occupied building Saturday night, Ammon Bundy and his brother, Ryan Bundy, said they are not looking to hurt anyone. But they would not rule out violence if law enforcement tries to remove them, they said, though they declined to elaborate.

"The facility has been the tool to do all the tyranny that has been placed upon the Hammonds," Ammon Bundy said.

"We're planning on staying here for years, absolutely," he added. "This is not a decision we've made at the last minute."

Neither would say how many people are in the building or whether they are armed. Ryan Bundy said the group would release a statement shortly.

"We will do whatever it takes to maintain our freedom," he said.

Government sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the militia also was planning to occupy a closed wildland fire station near the town of Frenchglen. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management posts crews there during the fire season.

Law enforcement officials so far have not commented on the situation. Oregon State Police, the Harney County Sheriff's Office and the FBI were involved.

Ammon Bundy had a video posted on his Facebook page calling on patriots from across the country to report to the refuge – with their weapons.

Pennies In ProtestMarchers pause outside the entrance to the Harney County Sheriff's Office to toss pennies. The coins were meant to symbolize citizens buying back their government

The dramatic turn came after other militia groups had tried to damp down community concerns they meant trouble.
Brandon Curtiss, a militia leader from Idaho, told The Oregonian/OregonLive he knew nothing about the occupation.

He helped organize Saturday's protest and was at the Harney County Fairgrounds with dozens of other militia for a post-parade function.

The occupation is being led by hard-core militia who adopted the Hammond cause as their own.

Ammon Bundy met with Dwight Hammond and his wife in November, seeking a way to keep the elderly rancher from having to surrender for prison. The Hammonds professed through their attorneys that they had no interest in ignoring the order to report for prison.

Ammon Bundy said the goal is to turn over federal land to local ranchers, loggers and miners. He said he met with 10 or so residents in Burns on Friday to try to recruit them, but they declined.

Burns Protest Marchers including militia and local residents Saturday head for the Harney County Courthouse as part of a protest against government.

"We went to the local communities and presented it many times and to many different people," he said. "They were not strong enough to make the stand. So many individuals across the United States and in Oregon are making this stand. We hope they will grab onto this and realize that it's been happening."

Among those joining Bundy in the occupation are Ryan Payne, U.S. Army veteran, and Blaine Cooper. Payne has claimed to have helped organize militia snipers to target federal agents in a standoff last year in Nevada. He told one news organization the federal agents would have been killed had they made the wrong move.

He has been a steady presence in Burns in recent weeks, questioning people who were critical of the militia's presence.

He typically had a holstered sidearm as he moved around the community.

At a community meeting in Burns Friday, Payne disavowed any ill intentions.

"The agenda is to uphold the Constitution. That's all," he said.
Cooper, another militia leader, said at that meeting he participated in the Bundy standoff in Nevada.

"I went there to defend Cliven with my life," Cooper said.

Ian K. Kullgren of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.
-- Les Zaitz
503-221-8181; @leszaitz

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-no...ith_quiet.html

12/30/15

What If Your Militia Showdown Isn’t Wanted?

BREAKING NEWSARMED MILITIA, INCL. BUNDY BROS, OCCUPY FOREST RESERVE HQ IN OREGON, CALL ‘US PATRIOTS’ TO ARMS



Armed militia, incl. Bundy bros, occupy forest reserve HQ in Oregon, call ‘US patriots’ to arms

Published time: 3 Jan, 2016 02:51Edited time: 3 Jan, 2016 03:49

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Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s three sons and “about 150” militiamen have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge HQ to protest the pending imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers accused of arson, arguing the federal government has no authority in local cases.

“We’re going to be freeing these lands up, and getting ranchers back to ranching, getting the loggers back to logging, getting the miners back to mining where they could do it under the protection of the people and not be afraid of this tyranny that’s been set upon them,” Ammon Bundy, who appears to be the leader of the group, said in a Facebook video posted by Sarah Dee Spurlock on Saturday. Bundy appears to be standing at the scene of the takeover, surrounded by several men in military-style uniforms with rifles and hand-held radios.

The rancher points out that Harney County used to be the richest in state, and is now the poorest. His radical proposal to solve the situation is to have armed “patriots” come and live in a de-facto self-rule zone independent of the federal authorities.

The second speaker in the video, identified as Blane Cooper, equates the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to bullies at school that used to beat you up and who eventually had to be put in their place.

“Until that line is drawn and say ‘we’ve had enough of this tyranny, you are going to leave us alone’ it will not change,” the military-clad man says.
According to Cooper, they hope their occupation will spell the beginning of a US-wide movement.

“It doesn’t have to stop here. This could be a hope that spreads through the whole country, the whole United States. Everybody’s looking for this hope because the government has beat us, and oppressed us, and took everything from us; they will not stop until we tell them no,” he claims.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

https://www.rt.com/usa/327762-armed-...egon-ranchers/

Sat Jan 2, 2016 11:35pm EST

Militiamen occupy U.S. national parks building in Oregon

A group of militiamen on Saturday occupied the headquarters of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon in support of two brothers who are slated to report to prison on Monday on arson charges, the Oregonian newspaper reported.

"We're planning on staying here for years, absolutely," Ammon Bundy, one of the occupiers, told the newspaper via telephone.

Militia members at the refuge claimed to have as many as 150 supporters with them. The Malheur National Wildlife refuge building, federal property managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was closed for the holiday weekend.

Bundy said that while the occupiers, who included his brother Ryan Bundy, were not looking to hurt anyone, they would not rule out violence if police tried to remove them, the Oregonian reported.

The occupation came shortly after a few hundred marchers paraded through Burns, Oregon, about 50 miles (80 km) away, to protest at the prosecution of father and son Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond, who were ordered returned to prison by a federal court which ruled their original sentences were insufficient.

The Hammonds had served time after being convicted in 2012 of setting fires on public land to protect their property from wildfires.

"The facility has been the tool to do all the tyranny that has been placed upon the Hammonds," the Oregonian quoted Ammon Bundy as saying.

"This is not a decision we've made at the last minute," he added, calling on other militiamen to join them.

The Bundys are the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. The Bundy family ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada, some 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Las Vegas, was the site of an armed protest against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in April 2014.

The stand-off gained nationwide attention as the agency sought to seize cattle because the elder Bundy refused to pay grazing fees. The federal agents ultimately backed down, citing safety concerns, and gave back hundreds of Bundy cattle which they had rounded up.

​http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oregon-militia-idUSKBN0UH03R20160103

JAN 3 2016, 12:38 PM ET


Ammon Bundy, 'Militia' Members Occupy Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon

by CASSANDRA VINOGRAD, GEMMA DICASIMIRRO, ANDREW RUDANSKY and ELISHA FIELDSTADT


A group of militiamen occupied a federal building at an Oregon wildlife refuge late Saturday and vowed to stay there indefinitely to protest rancher rights. KTVZ.COM

A group of reportedly armed protesters occupied a federal building at an Oregon wildlife refuge late Saturday and vowed to stay there indefinitely to highlight rancher rights.

The standoff came after so-called "militia members" converged on the small town of Burns to show support for a pair of ranchers jailed on an arson conviction, according to NBC affiliate KTVZ.

After a march and rally there, a small group then took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters about 60 miles away.

Ammon Bundy — son of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher known for his armed 2014 standoff with the federal government — was among them.

After issuing a Dec. 31 video message urging "patriots" to "stand up" and report to the refuge, Bundy said in a new video posted to Facebook late Saturday that his group was there and prepared to stay for "as long as it takes."

"We're prepared to be out here for as long as needs be," Bundy said in the video posted on Facebook. "Once they can use these lands as free men then we will have accomplished what we came to accomplish."

Bundy later told NBC affiliate KTVZ that "it's the people's facility — owned by the people."

"And it has been provided for us to be able to come together and unite in making a hard stand against this overreach — this taking of the people's land and resources," Bundy said.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative said the bureau had received reports that "an unknown number of individuals have broken into the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge facility" — but no staff were inside of the building at the time.

"While the situation is ongoing, the main concern is employee safety," the spokesman said. We will continue to monitor the situation for additional developments."

The protests were making some Burns residents uneasy.
Bundy stressed the protest was peaceful, saying his group poses "no threat to anybody."

It was unclear what kind of weapons the protesters had, or if they were part of any larger organization, although local residents were visibly worried and had even posted signs saying "Militia go home."

"It's sort of frightening when there are people making threats and people toting guns," Burns resident Kainan Jordan told KTVZ. "We're not used to this kind of thing here."

Largely, the protesters sang, toted signs and American flags and threw pennies at the Harris County Courthouse, which was symbolic of their effort to buy back their government, according to The Associated Press.

The FBI said it was aware of the situation but declined to comment further. NBC News was unable to reach local officials for further comment.

The case which sparked the initial protest involves Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven, 46, who set fires that spread to government lands they leased to graze cattle.

The Hammonds — who said they lit fires in 2001 and 2006 to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires — were convicted and served time for arson.
However a judge later ruled their sentences — three months for the father, one year for the son — were too short and ordered them back to prison. Prosecutors argued that the blazes were to cover up poaching.

The Hammonds are due to report to jail on Monday, according to KTVZ.

Cliven Bundy urged the Hammonds to turn themselves in, but said in a statement that "the United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or authority within the State of Oregon, County of Harney over this type of ranch management."

Bundy told Oregon Public Broadcasting on Saturday that "the people had to do something," but he wasn't a part of the protests.

On Saturday, supporters also gathered outside the elder Hammond's home and hugged him and his wife one-by-one in a display of solidarity, KTVZ reported.

"It isn't my decision, obviously. It's a sentence," Hammond said, adding that he appreciated the support from the protesters.

"I thank everyone who came out here today," Hammond said. "See you in five years."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...oregon-n489311

BREAKING: 12-15 Guys Occupy A Visitor’s Center In Middle Of Nowhere

Posted by Bob Owens on January 3, 2016 at 11:58 am

Oh, dear, they’ve really done it now.

A handful of self-styled “militia” left a protest yesterday in Burns, Oregon, drove to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge an hour away, and occupied the visitor’s center.

The fears of many Burns-area residents of violence when hundreds of militia members converged on the small town failed to materialize as a protest march and rally went peacefully Saturday, in support of a pair of ranchers about to begin their second federal prison term on an arson conviction.

But a short time later, a smaller group took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, about 60 miles to the southeast.

Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher known for his 2014 standoff with the federal government, told NewsChannel 21 he and his group are prepared to stay at the refuge for as long as necessary. He urged others to join them, saying they are peaceful and don’t mean any harm.

“It is the people’s facility, owned by the people,” Bundy said. “And it has been provided for us, to be able to come together and unite in making a hard stand against this overreach, this taking of the people’s land and resources.”
…
While most people in town support the ranching family, the militia groups’ involvement has been sparking controversy for weeks.

“I don’t like the militia’s methods,” said resident Monica McCannon who held up signs against the militia. “They had their rally. Now it’s time for them to go home. People are afraid of them.”

Others in town shared that sentiment.

“It’s sort of frightening when there are people making threats and people toting guns,” Jordan said.

Militia organizers insisted they weren’t here to cause any harm to anybody.

“We’re here for a peaceful rally,” Curtiss said. “If the Hammonds decided not to go to prison and stand up for their rights, we would stand right by their side. What would entail after that, I don’t know.”

The marchers gathered out front of the house, and one by one went to hug Dwight Hammond and his wife.
“To think that there’s this many people showing up,” he said, his voice breaking.

“I thank everyone who came out here today.”

It doesn’t change the outcome. On Monday Hammond and his son are going back to prison.

“See you in five years,” Hammond said.

Later, in a video message widely spread on Facebook, Ammon Bundy, reportedly joined in the takeover by two brothers and dozens of other militia members, explained why they had taken that step.

“This will become a base place for patriots from all over the country to come and be housed here,” he said, standing on a snowy road. “And we’re planning on staying here for several years.”

Bundy said they will be “bringing the lands up and getting the ranchers back to ranching and the miners back to mining, putting the loggers back to logging, where they could do it under the protection of the people, and not be afraid of this tyranny that has been upon them.”

According to other reporters at the scene who have reported through the night, the “dozens of others” is actually a total group of 12-15 guys. They’ve taken over the visitor’s center/park offices of a remote wildlife sanctuary in the middle .

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters and visitor’s center, via Google Maps


Immediate area surrounding Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters and visitor’s center, via Google Maps

Quite frankly their location is so remote that no one would likely know they were even there if they hadn’t alerted the media themselves.

The locals are not amused at these outsiders from other states coming in to their community to have what many are seeing as a cynical attempt to use tomorrow’s surrender of the Hammonds to their own ends, and have told them that they aren’t wanted, time and time again.

Sadly, many of the “social justice warriors” who cried for “tolerance” after Black Lives Matter supporters reduced their own neighborhoods to ash are now pushing the social media hashtag #OregonUnderAttack, and are calling for the federal government to crush what they are attempting to gin up as a “terrorist” act.

Washed-up television star Montel Williams is among those who want to use “deadly force” against the 12-15 protesters who so far have done little more than trespass into an empty building.

Folks, for there to be “terrorism” there must be someone “terrorized”… and a couple of squirrels and geese don’t count.

Ammond Bundy and his handful of supporters carpetbagged his way into another state where the local population at large and the Hammonds in particular don’t want his bluster and interference. He’s attempting to jumpstart support for his group by triggering a confrontation from an absurd rural location with no real strategic or tactical importance, and little worth.

I’d have the local sheriff simply block access in or out to deny them resupply, then cut the utilities, and let what the Russians call “General Winter” do the rest.

http://bearingarms.com/breaking-12-1...iddle-nowhere/

Armed militia group attempting to overthrow the government

1/4/15

Burns, Oregon residents' message to militia: 'Go away'