Oregon Stand-off Not Over, Leaders Arrested
One Oregon militant is dead and six have been arrested after FBI and Oregon State Police officials pulled over their vehicles Tuesday following a three-week stand-off at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The identity of the person killed has not been released, but Ryan Bundy, 43, suffered a minor gunshot wound during the highway stop about 15 miles north of Burns, Oregon, the Oregonian reported.
Also arrested were his brother, Ammon Bundy, 40, of Emmett, Idaho, who led the takeover of the wildlife headquarters by militants following a rally on behalf of two ranchers sentenced to five years’ prison for arson.
Ryan W. Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Mont., Brian Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada, and Shawna J. Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah, were also charged with conspiracy to impede federal officers, which is a felony, according to the Oregonian.
A sixth person, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, was arrested in Burns, KATU-TV reported.
The stand-off leaders were reportedly driving on U.S. 395 to a community meeting at the John Day Senior Center.
Ammon Bundy, who had held frequent press conferences at the refuge, had called for the release of the two ranchers and for the Obama administration to relinquish control of federal lands to localities.
Source
Even with its leaders arrested, there was no indication that the militia was ready to leave the refuge. While occupiers had come and gone freely throughout the standoff, police erected a roadblock at the main entrance to the refuge after the shooting and urged those inside to leave. The Oregonian reported convoys of police vehicles were also moving toward other roads out. Highway 395 was also blocked around the area of the arrest.
Finicum’s death adds a sad note to a story of piracy, illegal seizure, and futility. Federal officials had hoped to avoid violence in resolving the standoff, haunted by public backlash to the 1990s incidents at Waco and Ruby Ridge. Yet the Bundy gang’s seizure was unlawful, and its demands were clearly unrealistic: “It needs to be very clear that these buildings will never, ever return to the federal government,” Finicum told The Washington Post this month.
The questions now are whether the arrests and Finicum’s death will convince the remaining occupiers of the futility of holding out, and whether federal officials will step up their efforts to force the militia out.
Source
I corrected the title and added another snippet with more info: sorry for the incorrect assumption I made earlier!
The identity of the person killed has not been released, but Ryan Bundy, 43, suffered a minor gunshot wound during the highway stop about 15 miles north of Burns, Oregon, the Oregonian reported.
Also arrested were his brother, Ammon Bundy, 40, of Emmett, Idaho, who led the takeover of the wildlife headquarters by militants following a rally on behalf of two ranchers sentenced to five years’ prison for arson.
Ryan W. Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Mont., Brian Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada, and Shawna J. Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah, were also charged with conspiracy to impede federal officers, which is a felony, according to the Oregonian.
A sixth person, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, was arrested in Burns, KATU-TV reported.
The stand-off leaders were reportedly driving on U.S. 395 to a community meeting at the John Day Senior Center.
Ammon Bundy, who had held frequent press conferences at the refuge, had called for the release of the two ranchers and for the Obama administration to relinquish control of federal lands to localities.
Source
Even with its leaders arrested, there was no indication that the militia was ready to leave the refuge. While occupiers had come and gone freely throughout the standoff, police erected a roadblock at the main entrance to the refuge after the shooting and urged those inside to leave. The Oregonian reported convoys of police vehicles were also moving toward other roads out. Highway 395 was also blocked around the area of the arrest.
Finicum’s death adds a sad note to a story of piracy, illegal seizure, and futility. Federal officials had hoped to avoid violence in resolving the standoff, haunted by public backlash to the 1990s incidents at Waco and Ruby Ridge. Yet the Bundy gang’s seizure was unlawful, and its demands were clearly unrealistic: “It needs to be very clear that these buildings will never, ever return to the federal government,” Finicum told The Washington Post this month.
The questions now are whether the arrests and Finicum’s death will convince the remaining occupiers of the futility of holding out, and whether federal officials will step up their efforts to force the militia out.
Source
I corrected the title and added another snippet with more info: sorry for the incorrect assumption I made earlier!