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Militia Group Takes Over Federal Building In Eastern Oregon Because “The Lord Was Not Pleased”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35416516
Oregon protest leader Ammon Bundy seized in deadly clash
US police say they have arrested the leader of an armed militia which has occupied a wildlife refuge in Oregon, with one person killed in a shootout.
Ammon Bundy and four others were arrested during a traffic stop. One person was injured. Three others were held in separate incidents.
 
I don't have much personal sympathy for the particular individuals involved in this pseudo-siege, nor do I support the militia movement, but I will observe that the U.S. government authorities are still reaping the rich harvest of their mis-sown seeds at Ruby Ridge and Waco.
 
I don't have much personal sympathy for the particular individuals involved in this pseudo-siege, nor do I support the militia movement, but I will observe that the U.S. government authorities are still reaping the rich harvest of their mis-sown seeds at Ruby Ridge and Waco.

The agenda of these guys is the privatisation of public land. I guess what happened at Ruby Ridge and Waco makes the govt slower to act but I still reckon if it had been Black or Indian activists involved there wouldn't have been such hesitation.
 
Though apparently the hesitation has been because one of the twots brought his daughters with him.
 
I predict it will all fall apart very soon, and everybody could go back to what they were doing before.
 
I think it's definitely because they didn't get the snacks they so desperately craved.
 
Malheur refuge now faces sweep for explosives, evidence

BURNS – Cleared of armed protesters Thursday, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge will remain closed for weeks as investigators check for explosives, gather evidence and help the Burns Paiute Tribe assess damage to their cultural artifacts.

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies will move methodically to document alleged crimes and assess damage, said Greg Bretzing, FBI special agent in charge in Oregon.

He also said the arrest of 25 occupiers in recent days shows that taking over federal property with the threat of violence "will not be tolerated in the United States. I hope that message has gotten out clearly."

The work of clearing the refuge started after the last four occupiers surrendered Thursday, giving up on a siege that started Jan. 2.

Bretzing said the first task for agents was to sweep the buildings at the refuge headquarters, 30 miles southeast of Burns, to ensure no protesters were lurking.

Most fled the compound in the days after occupation leader Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, 54, of Arizona, was shot and killed as he tried to flee police Jan. 26. The last four who gave up had been on their own from two days after Finicum was shot and other occupation leaders arrested. ...

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-st..._damage_assessment_fo.html#incart_maj-story-1
 
The FBI has found "a trench of human feces" on or near a Native American burial ground at the federal wildlife refuge in Oregon that armed militia members had occupied for more than a month, Reuters reported Wednesday.

In a court filing obtained by Reuters, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams wrote that investigators, who started processing the crime scene two days after the standoff ended, found "significant amounts of human feces" in a trench "either on or next to a 'sensitive cultural site'" at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns.

"Occupiers appear to have excavated two large trenches and an improvised road on or adjacent to grounds containing sensitive artifacts," Williams wrote in the filing, as quoted by Reuters.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/malheur-wildlife-refuge-human-feces-burial-grounds
 
Evidence that they ate some snacks? :D
 
An investigation into the fatal shooting of a rancher taking part in a stand-off at an Oregon wildlife refuge has concluded the killing was justified.

A county prosecutor said LaVoy Finicum had posed a threat to officers.

His death, and the arrest of other activists, ended the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

More than two dozen people are facing federal charges stemming from the nearly six-week stand-off.

FBI agents from the hostage rescue team are separately being investigated for failing to report that they fired two bullets at the moving vehicle.

The shots fired "were justified and in fact necessary," said Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35760761
 
March 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Nevada refused rancher Cliven Bundy's latest request on Thursday to be freed from jail ahead of his trial on conspiracy and other felony charges for his role in a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents, a spokeswoman for prosecutors said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl Hoffman Jr. ruled at a hearing in Las Vegas that Bundy, 69, posed a danger to the public if released, U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Natalie Collins said in an email statement.

Bundy has been jailed since his arrest on Feb. 10 at the Portland International Airport after arriving there on his way to show support for anti-government militants who had taken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon.

He and two of his sons, Ammon and Ryan, who were indicted in connection with leading the Oregon occupation and also face charges with their father in the Nevada standoff, have become popular figures for groups challenging federal control over vast stretches of public land in the West.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ju...n-jail-ahead-of-trial-for-standoff/ar-BBqAi88
 
Now it's going to get real interesting....

"GOP Politicians Planned And Participated In Key Aspects Of Refuge Occupation"

http://www.opb.org/news/series/burn...can-gop-politicians-coalition-western-states/

"COWS representatives visited the refuge, which was closed to the public. The lawmakers acknowledge they fed the militants information gathered from that meeting, and militant leaders talked openly about what they learned from those disclosures. "
 
Worst Ranchers Ever: More ‘Wise Use’ Fraud, Bundy Cows Emaciated, Starving

Now that Bundy and his sons are locked away, the cows which caused all the trouble are overpopulated and untended. They should be removed from Gold Butte, of course, but state and federal government agencies are dragging their feet in fear of ‘patriot’ militia violence.

Rudy Evenson of BLM Nevada responded with this statement: “The Bureau of Land Management too is concerned about the welfare and condition of the cattle and has discussed this situation with other interested parties such as the Humane Society of the United States. Unfortunately, all previous attempts to remove Mr. Bundy’s trespass cattle from the public lands have been met with threats of violence and most recently with an armed assault on law enforcement officers.”

It’s not an unrealistic fear. Even though Cliven Bundy and two of his sons were arrested along with more than a dozen others after a weeks-long drama in Oregon, the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum during a traffic stop operation has angered the online ‘patriot’ community.

Threats against the state policeman who killed Finicum, as well as other law enforcement personnel involved in the operation, continue.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Bundy’s cattle are so wild at this point that just rounding them up is a dangerous operation all by itself. ...

http://freakoutnation.com/2016/04/w...wise-use-fraud-bundy-cows-emaciated-starving/
 
Now that it's going to court, the shenanigans are continuing:

http://patch.com/oregon/portland/or...arges-should-be-dropped-because-feds-dont-own

choice quote:
"We look forward to Ammon Bundy's attempt to re-litigate 200 years of jurisprudence regarding the property clause, and United States v. Oregon, the 1935 Supreme Court case that specifically established the American people's ownership of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge," she said.
 
I think it's safe to say that the acquittals of the prime movers behind this occupation is not universally welcomed. I confess I struggle to understand it, myself. As much comment on twitter has it, what message does this send to other people contemplating armed resistance in the event the election doesn't go their way? Never mind the apparent disparity in the kid-glove treatment of this bunch of obviously heavily-armed people who just happen to be white, and the many cases of people of colour being shot even though they did not obviously present an armed threat.

New York Times said:
PORTLAND, Ore. — Armed antigovernment protesters led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy were acquitted Thursday of federal conspiracy and weapons charges stemming from the takeover of a federally owned wildlife sanctuary in Oregon last winter. The surprise acquittals of all seven defendants in Federal District Court was a blow to government prosecutors, who had argued that the Bundys and five of their followers used force and threats of violence to occupy the reserve. But the jury appeared swayed by the defendants’ contention that they were protesting government overreach and posed no threat to the public. [continues]
 
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