Wednesday, news outlets reported that the citizens of Burns, the closest town to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, convened with the Harney County Sheriff’s Office and publicly asked the armed ranchers to leave.
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At that meeting, local residents said they sympathized with the armed group’s complaints about federal land management but disagreed with their tactics and called Bundy and his followers to leave.
During the 30-minute meeting at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a leader of the occupation, Ammon Bundy, told about a dozen representatives of such groups as Pacific Patriots Network, Oath Keepers and 3% that he had no immediate plans to abandon the siege.
Anti-government extremists hailing from as far away as MI and Arizona joined group leader Ammon Bundy to call for the federal government to return land to ranchers.
In a YouTube video, the younger Mr Bundy said God was not happy with what happened to OR rancher family Steven and Dwight Hammond, who turned themselves in on Monday to carry out longer prison sentences after setting fire to federal land in 2001 and 2006. Her friend had heard about the protest, a rally inspired by the sentencing of two local ranchers on arson charges, and the protesters had come to eastern OR saying the government should relinquish the land to locals.
Harney County Sheriff David Ward said in a statement the meeting was to “talk about their security concerns and the disruptions that the behavior of the militants on the refuge are causing for our people”. Ward has asked Bundy and the group to leave and go home.
After Saturday’s protest, militia, along with sons of Cliven Bundy, initiated the occupation of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Though they didn’t have a personal connection to the Hammonds, their family has a history of tension with the government over the use of federal land.
The Hammonds were convicted of arson three years ago and served no more than a year.
Sheriff David Ward and members of the militia who overtook the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge met Thursday “to discuss a peaceful resolution” to the standoff.
While they didn’t agree with the occupation of the refuge, numerous Harney County residents said they appreciated how much attention the Bundys and their followers have brought to ranching and other natural resource issues in southeast Oregon. Bundy said the group will stay “until the people can stand without the chains of intimidation”.
“I could tell he loved the Lord and he loved people”, said Mr Bundy.
Asked whether she would throw a blanket on the militia group’s leader, Rodrique replies “I would go down there and show him how to make a rabbit blanket so that he can keep warm”.
Bundy and his crew have threatened to kill law enforcement officials who attempt to intervene.
The meetings were friendly, he said, and he told them that they were there to make neither side escalates the dispute.
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“The Bundy boys seem very cool and relaxed”, he said after the meeting. They will now serve about four more years each.
