With the Federal Bureau of Investigation tightening its ring around them, the last four holdouts in the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in OR surrendered Thursday, ending a 41-day standoff that left one man dead and exposed simmering anger over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western land.
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Fry, in an extraordinary exchange live-streamed online and at one point followed by 30,000 people, lashed out at the government, saying that unless his grievances are addressed he would not leave the refuge. “I said, ‘Two years?’ And they were pretty quiet on that”. The sheriff said Blomgren previously lived in NY.
Following the end of the standoff, Harney County Sheriff David Ward encouraged members of the community to “get off” social media and “talk to each other in person”.
In the video above, NewsWatch 12’s Kasey Kershner breaks down those final moments leading up to the surrender.
The occupiers attempted to tap into frustration, particularly in Harney County, among people who make a living off federal public land they see as being shut down as more emphasis is placed on landscapes that have value as functioning ecosystems and as places to hike, fish and recreate.
The Bundy family grabbed headlines in 2014 after another armed showdown with federal authorities over cattle grazing fees.
“I just posted hallelujah on my Facebook”, said Julie Weikel, who lives next to the nature preserve. A lawyer for Cliven Bundy was not immediately available for a request for comment.
The FBI confirmed Cliven Bundy’s was taken into federal custody but declined to provide a reason or other details, saying further information would be released by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Las Vegas, which did not respond to a phone call early Thursday.
DeFazio said he had asked Department of Justice officials a few weeks ago why the elder Bundy had not yet been charged. He also faces weapons charges.
Three of the protesters, Sean Larry Anderson, Sandra Lynn Anderson and Jeff Wayne Banta, turned themselves over to agents around 9:40 a.m., with the Andersons walking out together carrying an American Flag.
January 20: 2016: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says she’s angry that federal authorities have not yet taken action against the occupiers and that she plans to bill the us government for what the standoff has cost Oregon taxpayers.
A grand jury has indicted 16 of the protesters on federal conspiracy charges, but Mr. Arnold said at a televised roadside press conference Thursday that “the First Amendment and the Second Amendment aren’t mutually exclusive”. Four others were also arrested in that confrontation, which resulted in the shooting death of the group’s spokesman, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum. They face charges of conspiring to impede federal officers from performing their duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats.
“As we have said since day one, our goal has been to end this illegal occupation peacefully, and we are grateful that we were able to do so today”, he said.
The FBI says it hasn’t found any rigged explosives or booby traps at the national wildlife refuge.
“In the meantime, the occupation and continued presence of militia groups in Harney County continues to cause division in the county and every community within”.
“How can you go up there and take over government property and expect to accomplish anything from it?” said Demar Dahl, an Elko County commissioner in Nevada and advocate for state control of lands.
Federal authorities called for a return to normalcy, but acknowledged more work ahead.
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The group was not allowed to enter the refuge, which is now considered a crime scene.
