The occupation has cost the local government up to $75,000 a day and could climb to a total of $1 million if the ranchers do not leave, said Harney County Judge Steve Grasty.
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A pastor, who is opposed the occupation, and the wife of a local police officer told the newspaper motorists were driving slowly by their houses during the night or parking for lengthy periods in their driveways in an apparent attempt to intimidate them. He also said he won’t leave until a father and son rancher are released from prison.
“I think there should be a dialogue”, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum said, relaying a message from the group’s leader, Ammon Bundy. The Hammonds have tried to distance themselves from the militia, saying through their attorney that the group didn’t speak for them. While the standoff in rural OR was prompted by the jailing of two ranchers convicted of arson, experts say the issue at the core of the dispute runs much deeper and concerns grazing OR timber rights as well as permits to work mines on government land in Western states.
At a meeting Monday, a high school freshman was given a standing ovation when she said the group should leave.
“Self-identified militia members” approach them in public, Ward said, trying to start a debate about the federal government.
“Get the group gone from the refuge”, one Harney County resident said during the meeting.
Jewell said the department is working with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to “peacefully resolve this situation as quickly and safely as possible”.
No one ever said it’s easy to take a stand against the federal government: it’s cold, there aren’t enough snacks, everyone is pissy, and a bunch of strangers won’t stop sending you hate mail and dicks.
The Citizens for Constitutional Freedom group engaged in the standoff have renamed the federal center the Harney County Resource Center to draw attention to their desire to have public lands removed from federal control and be placed under localized supervision.
Earlier this week, several members of the group occupying the wildlife refuge traveled to neighboring Grant County to ask the sheriff there to travel to Harney County to voice his support. I know that all of my friends have been scared and have come to me to know what to do. “Let’s not candy-coat this thing – they are terrorists”.
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After Bundy and his group finished a news conference, VeneKlasen took to the same stage to protest the occupation.
