Members of the Pacific Patriots Network, a network of groups from Oregon, Washington and Idaho, arrived to the refuge on Saturday carrying rifles and sidearms and wearing bulletproof vests and military attire. A small, armed group has been occupying a remote national wildlife refuge in OR since a week earlier to protest federal lan…
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Todd MacFarlane, a Utah lawyer acting as a mediator, said occupation leader Ammon Bundy didn’t want the armed visitors there and was concerned about the perception they conveyed. Three Oregon sheriffs met with leaders of an armed group to try to persuade them to end their occupation of the federal wildlife refuge after many local residents made it plain that’s what they want. “Because of that, there are no planned meetings or calls at this time.
We will take that offer but not yet”.
At a community meeting in Burns, Oregon this past week, nearly all those attending supported the Harney County Sheriff David Ward’s efforts to end the occupation.
He added that Bundy, who has his own group of around two dozen men, had “tried to put out the word: ‘We don’t need you'”.
Bundy, who lives in Arizona, maintains that his group will not leave until two locals convicted of setting fire to federal land are released and the government relinquishes its control of that land so people can “reclaim their resources”.
Possibly, but they will not get the federal government to give them federal lands – nor should they. They had shown up, they said, to “de-escalate” the standoff by providing security for both the protesters and Harney County residents.
Bundy reiterated that his group will leave when there’s a plan to turn over federal lands to locals.
As the scene in front of the courthouse played out, another group of uninvited visitors was preparing to meet with Bundy, the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, over the objections of Grasty and state Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Ontario whose district includes Harney County.
Dwight Hammond and his son Steven Hammond have distanced themselves from Bundy’s group and reported to prison Monday.
Curtiss said the new group is not staying inside the refuge, but are patrolling the perimeter. However, federal prosecutors appealed their sentences and requested they receive a minimum of five years. They also restricted access to water sources used by the Hammonds.
Local residents have mixed feelings about the occupation.
Rick Bowmer/AP Locals of Burns, Oregon, the nearest town to the wildlife refuge, are eyeing newcomers with suspicion.
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Rapolla said he had also taken sausage McMuffins to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who are stationed at nearby Burns Municipal Airport to monitor the occupation and had coffee with deputies from the county sheriff’s office on Thursday.
