IDIOTS WITH GUNS: 12-Year-Old Girl Shot Through the Stomach During Idaho Militia Meeting

This Is What Happens When You Combine Macho With Stupid
Brandon Curtiss (left) and other members of the III% Idaho group (Facebook)

By Travis Gettys
he daughter of a militia member was shot and wounded Sunday after a local meeting of the III% Idaho group.

The 12-year-old girl, whose name was not released, was taken by helicopter to a hospital for treatment after the shooting at the Rupert Gun Range, reported the Twin Falls Times-News.

Her mother said the girl was in stable condition Monday morning, and the shooting remains under investigation.

It’s not clear who was handling the weapon when it fired, wounding the girl.

Brandon Curtiss, the president of the state III% militia group, provided some details about the girl and the shooting in a Facebook post seeking donations for the wounded child’s family.

He said militia group members wanted to take target practice after a county meeting of the militia group — which was involved in last month’s armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Curtiss said a militia member’s gun accidentally fired while clearing the weapon, and the bullet struck a metal table beneath a shelter and ricocheted.

The bullet struck the girl, who is the daughter of a militia group member, in the stomach and then exited her side.

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Cliven Bundy—Father of the Armed Men Who Led the Takeover of the Oregon Wildlife Refuge—Charged With Assault, Conspracy and Extortion

Cliven Bundy was completely discredited (among non-racist people) when he suggested African Americans were "better off as slaves."

By Mark Katkov and Christopher Dean Hopkins
The father of two men who were among the occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and are now in jail, was himself arrested in Portland, Ore., Wednesday night.

Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher prominent in protests to end federal control of western lands, is being held in the Multnomah County Detention Center. His sons Ammon and Ryan were arrested Jan. 27 and are there as well.

According to the charging document against Bundy, the rancher is charged with conspiracy, assault on a federal law enforcement officer, "the use and carry of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence," obstruction or justice, extortion, and aiding and abetting.

The charges date back to the 2014 standoff near Bundy's Nevada ranch; the timeframe listed in the federal complaint continues until today. He is due to appear in federal court in Portland at 1:30 p.m. (local time).

Shortly after the charges against Bundy were announced, David Fry, the last of the four holdouts occupying the refuge, reportedly surrendered.

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White Terrorism: Law Enforcement's Equipment Supplier Turns Out To Be Pipe Bomb Manufacturing Right-Winger (Video)

Bomb Maker Michael Ramos was manufacturing body armor for law enforcement organizations.

By Tom Boggioni
Florida man who claims to be a member of the “United States Patriot Army” was taken into custody on Monday after a business partner spotted pipe bombs in his Tampa home.

Michael Ramos was arrested by ATF agents who recovered the bombs along with tear gas canisters and smoke bombs when they raided his house, reports Tampa Fox 13.

According to authorities, Ramos is one of the founders and president of Patriot Armor, Inc. — a company that manufactures body armor and sells it to law enforcement officers and firefighters. His partner, Kenneth Ray O’Neill, contacted authorities after seeing the pipe bombs in Ramos’ house and asking about them.

Ramos reportedly told his partner that he made the bombs himself using materials purchased at Home Depot and through Amazon.com. He stated that he had inserted bird-shot into them, adding “it would kill the neighbors if one of the bombs went off.”

According to an affidavit, O’Neill confronted Ramos before reporting him — telling him he needed to get rid of the bombs or he would contact the police, to which Ramos replied,”so you’re going to put me in jail?”

When O’Neill contacted him later and asked if he had destroyed the bombs, Ramos reportedly explained that he hadn’t because he didn’t know how to and was too scared to get rid of them.

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Bail Denied for Captured Members of Armed 'Militiamen' Who Invaded Oregon Wildlife Refuge

Ammon (left) and Ryan Bundy: Leaders of the "militiamen" who took over an Oregon wildlife refuge by force of arms.
Both are now under arrest after a shootout that left one of their followers dead.

By Gregg Zoroya
Four remaining armed militia members continued their occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge Saturday, one day after a federal judge denied bail to ringleader Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan and three co-defendants.

The holdouts at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near the town of Burns posted videos Saturday where one of them told the camera, "we're not dead yet," according to the Associated Press. The standoff began Jan. 2

The Oregonian identified those remaining at the refuge as David Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio; and Sean Anderson, 47, his wife, Sandy, 48, and Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nev.

Ammon Bundy 40, of Emmett, Idaho, argued during a federal hearing in Portland on Friday that he should be allowed to post bail and go free because the protest was not violent and there was never an armed standoff, according to media reports of the court session.

"My only desire is to be home with family and take care of my wife and children," Ammon Bundy, who was arrested earlier this week, told the judge.

But Judge Stacie Beckerman said the protest was not peaceful.

"There are no conditions I could impose that would guarantee the safety of the community or that he (Ammon Bundy) would come back to the district of Oregon for trial," Beckerman said, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Bundy, head of an anti-government group, had been holed up at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since Jan. 2, when he and his followers seized its headquarters south of Burns as part of a long-running dispute over public land use in the West.

Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the standoff. They have been charged with felony conspiracy to use force, intimidation or threats to impede federal officers — the employees of the refuge — from discharging their duties.

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Note To Corporate Media: Heavily Armed, Law-Breaking Oregon 'Militiamen' Aren’t ‘Protesters’

Heavily armed white "militiamen" who take over and occupy public land in Oregon and dare police to "come and get us" are referred to as mere "militants." Meanwhile cops like Sergeant Jeffrey Rothecker advised drivers to run over unarmed Black Lives Matter activists who protest in the street.

By Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani
With news that the leader of the Oregon militia occupying a federal wildlife refuge was arrested last night, and another member killed in a confrontation with police, it’s worth taking a look back at how the media has described the crisis in the last few weeks.

The armed militia first seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon on January 2, and proclaimed early on that they were willing to kill and be killed if necessary. Since then, their occupation of the land, and their refusal to seriously negotiate with the FBI, has cost the U.S. government over $133,000 per day.

Regardless, much of mainstream media has continued to avoid labeling them as the occupying militia that they are. Rather, the go-to label for the armed group has been “protesters.”

Here are just a few headlines along those lines:

Those weren’t the only ones. Another New York Times article from last week reads “Rural Oregon’s Lost Prosperity Gives Standoff a Distressed Backdrop,” but a Nexis search reveals that the article also ran under the much more controversial headline below:

Other headlines portraying the militia mildly have included “Oregon Protesters Say Occupation of Federal Building Was Last Resort” in the Wall Street Journal, while Reuters ran an article headlined “Lack of government action over land disputes may embolden Oregon protesters.”

[...]

The media has labeled Black Lives Matter events a “threat,” and activists have even been accused of inciting violence “to the point of a hate crime“, despite the movement being largely peaceful. Police have repeatedly used excessive force against Black Lives Matter activists, deploying riot gear, tear gas, and smoke bombs on the unarmed activists protesting. And just last week, a Minnesota cop encouraged people to run over Black Lives Matter protesters. “Run them over,” Sergeant Jeffrey M. Rothecker wrote in a Facebook comment. “Keep traffic flowing and don’t slow down for any of these idiots who try and block the street.” He then advised drivers how they could use the law to justify running over protesters with their cars.

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The Shooting and Killing of 'Militiaman' Lavoy Finicum by the FBI — Close Up, Slow Motion (Video)

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Video of Arrest of 'Militiamen' in Oregon Released (Video)

Anti-Muslim Fanatic Who Occupied Oregon Wildlife Refuge With 'Militiamen' Arrested by FBI

By Travis Gettys
One of the most prominent Oregon militants fled home before his comrades were shot, arrested or scattered during an apparent ambush by law enforcement officers.

Jon Ritzheimer, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has gained a high profile for his anti-Muslim rallies and threats against government officials, shared a series of Facebook posts that indicated he’d left the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and returned home.

“FYI. I came home to AZ to visit my family,” Ritzheimer posted late Tuesday. “The feds know I am here and are charging me with Conspiracy to impede a federal officer. I need an attorney. My family needs help and I am hoping they grant me bail.”

That’s the same charge that law enforcement officers have lodged against seven other militants, including Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne.

The FBI issued a statement early Wednesday saying the 32-year-old Ritzheimer had turned himself in and was arrested without incident.

“Ritzheimer faces one federal felony charge of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 372,” the FBI said in a statement.

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Neo-Nazis and the Bundy Militia in Oregon

Photo by Jason Hollinger.

Will the History Books Record How Neo-Nazis Made Eyes at the Bundy Militia?

By Spencer Sunshine

[...]

The occupiers had been demanding the abolition of the federal government as we know it, using a set of rationales that were originally derived from racist movements. Some of the occupiers were known to spout anti-Semitic or Islamophobic conspiracy theories, while another denied that slavery existed. And so it should not have surprised anyone that neo-Nazis and other organized racists have applauded the occupation.


Until their arrest, Ammon and Ryan Bundy (sons of deadbeat rancher Cliven Bundy) were leaders of the occupation of the refuge's headquarters outside of Burns, Oregon, which had gone on since January 2. They had two demands: to remove control of the bird sanctuary (previously Indigenous-held land) from the federal government's hands so that ranchers could use it for private gain without current environmental and other restrictions; and release two members of the Hammond family, local ranchers serving sentences for arson on public land.

Many of the ideas and political forms that Ammon Bundy and his friends used were derived from the 1970s white supremacist group Posse Comitatus. It promoted the formation of militias, developed a fictitious parallel legal world based on an idiosyncratic reading of the US Constitution, and rejected the authority of federal and state governments - claiming that the county sheriff was the highest legitimate elected official. But while Ammon Bundy and the others directly around him had many of the same ideas, they were careful not to use Posse Comitatus' bigoted language.

This was not true of many of the Bundys' followers at the refuge. Jon Ritzheimer, who was also arrested Tuesday night, is a famous Islamophobic organizer, known for his vicious rhetoric. Blaine Cooper once wrapped a Koran in bacon and set it on fire. Brand Thornton and David Fry are reported to hold anti-Semitic ideas. Ryan Payne (also arrested on Tuesday) believes that slavery didn't exist. Rance Harris is said to have neo-Nazi tattoos like "88" - the alphanumeric code for "Heil Hitler." And together they collectively offended the Burns Paiute Tribe (whose land used to include the refuge), by - among other things - breaking into an area where the tribe's artifacts are stored.

So flirtatious overtures from neo-Nazis to the Bundy gang should not have surprised anyone.

At the beginning of the occupation, Andrew Anglin, publisher of the popular neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website, wrote that, despite his relative disinterest in cattle-grazing laws, "when I see working class White men in a confrontation with the federal government, I simply assume that the federal government is wrong and the working men are right. Clearly, that is the case in this situation." The next day he added, "I'm warming up to their issues a bit more. They do seem like good guys" - even though he wished they were "protesting these new Obama gun control measures."

John Friend, a Holocaust denier, made a special trip to the Malheur refuge, where he interviewed several of the occupiers. He also wrote a glowing report about the armed occupation for the American Free Press, an anti-Semitic, white nationalist newspaper, which is one of the remaining parts of the Willis Carto empire. (Among his other achievements, Carto helped popularize Holocaust denial in the United States.)

The Traditionalist Youth Network, the reigning US youth group for nerdy 20-somethings who are into racism, took to Twitter to support the Bundy militia. They declared the Bundy action to be "civil disobedience" (the whole armed part apparently being neither here nor there), and claimed that leftists, who normally "romanticize" civil disobedience, "totally lose their shit (TERRORISM! ANARCHY!) when some white people do it."

Taki's Magazine is a home for folks whose views are largely in line with those of the Republican Party, except the party just isn't bigoted enough for them. It ran a full propaganda push for the Bundy rebellion by Gavin McInnes, a cofounder of Vice magazine (though now gone), and contributor to the xenophobic, white nationalist website VDARE. Falsely claiming that the wildlife refuge was stolen from ranchers, McInnes called the Hammonds' mandatory minimum arson sentences "an incredibly cut-and-dried example of the government oppressing the people because they want our stuff." McInnes claims the liberal media hates the Bundy gang because they are white men who do "exactly what the Constitution says we should do." (Somehow in my civics class I missed the amendment that specifies citizens' obligation to get guns and occupy publicly owned bird sanctuaries. I'll have to read it again.)

Hunter Wallace, writing for the popular white nationalist Occidental Dissent website, supported the Bundys' attack on public lands. Complaining of "environmentalism run amok" - we can only assume their fantasy all-white world will have no need for polar ice caps - they attack the "truly insane levels" of Western federal land ownership, and "the extremes to which radical Greens in the Obama administration have discredited environmentalism," by wanting to "block the Keystone Pipeline" and "halt drilling in the Arctic." I certainly hope they are investing all of their movement's funds in low-lying Pacific Island real estate.

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The Head Has Been Cut Off of the Snake — Both Leaders of Oregon Occupation Arrested After Shootout

Ammon (left) and Ryan Bundy: Leaders of the "militiamen" who took over an Oregon wildlife refuge by force of arms.
Both are now under arrest after a shootout that left one of their followers dead.

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Seven Oregon Occupiers Arrested, One Person Killed in Confrontation With Police

By Sarah Kaplan
Seven people involved in the armed occupation of a central Ore. wildlife refuge were arrested after a traffic stop during which shots were fired. Another unnamed individual was killed during the confrontation, the FBI and Oregon State Police announced Tuesday.

Authorities said that shots were exchanged during a traffic stop along Highway 395 around 4:25 p.m. local time. Police were carrying out a federal probable cause arrest for a number of people involved in the armed standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which has been occupied since Jan. 2.

The Oregon State Police said Tuesday night that an incident team has been dispatched to investigate the officer-involved shooting. No law enforcement personnel were injured in the confrontation about 15 miles north of Burns, Ore.

Five people were arrested at that time, including occupation leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy. One person was killed during the exchange of gunfire.

[..]

A sixth person involved in the occupation, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy of Cottonwood, Ariz., was arrested about an hour and a half after the initial confrontation. Shortly after that, a seventh person — Peter Santilli of Cincinnati, Ohio, who is known for live streaming refuge events — was arrested in Burns.

All of people arrested face federal felony charges for conspiracy to impede federal officers.

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White Terrorist in Oregon Get Into Shootout With Law Enforcement — At Least One 'Militiaman' Dead

Ammon Bundy, leader of the wildlife refuge occupiers, was among the six armed white terrorists arrested after a shootout. At least one terrorist was killed and another wounded.

By Aviva Shen
Six members of the militia occupying the Malheur National Refuge, including Ammon Bundy, were taken into custody Tuesday night following a shooting nearby, according to the FBI.

The Harney County District Hospital in Burns, Oregon is on lockdown, and a section of the highway is also closed. The altercation occurred at about 4:25 PM local time, when the militia was on its way to a meeting in John Day, a neighboring town.

The FBI released a statement confirming that one militant died in a shootout. Another militant sustained “non life-threatening” injuries and was taken to the hospital.

BREAKING: FBI statement confirms Ammon Bundy in custody. https://t.co/AcqRyOMOlx #KOIN6News #Oregonstandoff pic.twitter.com/WG9F3NAV8S

— Brent Weisberg (@BrentKOIN) January 27, 2016

Bundy and his militia have been occupying the federal property since the beginning of January, and law enforcement has been hesitant to remove them. But conflicts with local residents have escalated recently; members of the occupation have torn down their fences and reportedly vandalized other property in the town. Locals have grown angrier at the lack of action to remove the militia.

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Sheriff Bows to White Terrorism in Oregon — Ask Feds To Cave In to 'Militia' Group Occupying Public Lands

White Terrorism: It descends from the rants of right-wing politicians and pundits like Donald Trump, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity.

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Oregon Standoff: Grant County Sheriff Urges Release of Hammonds

By Les Zaitz
Sheriff Glenn Palmer said in an email his meetings with militants didn't include Ammon Bundy, leader of the occupation.

BURNS – Leaders of the armed protesters holding the national bird sanctuary on Tuesday plan to push their anti-government agenda in Grant County, whose sheriff recommends the government give in to two of their key demands.

RELATED STORY: When Unarmed Blacks Tried To Occupy A Wildlife Refuge They Were Forcibly Removed and Arrested

Sheriff Glenn Palmer said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive that "the government is going to have to concede something" to end the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

He said freeing a father-son ranching team from prison "would be a start. Sending the FBI home would be a start." He referred to the FBI's lead role in ending the refuge occupation.

"I just pray to God that cooler heads prevail and that no one gets killed," Palmer said.

The sheriff's endorsement of the militants' demands stunned law enforcement officials, most of whom would not publicly discuss the matter.

Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe, who has been helping in Burns, said Palmer's position "doesn't help the cause. If anything, it hampers the effort to end this."

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The 'Militia' and 'Patriot' Movements: Spinoff Cults of White Supremacists

"After 9/11, even as the feds have cracked down hard on all kinds of radical political activity (for example, many eco-saboteurs who never killed or injured anyone were sentenced under terrorism laws), the radical right has received almost a complete pass"

Illustration by Ronald David Jackson

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I Studied Oregon’s Militia Movement. Here’s 5 Things You Need to Know

By Spencer Sunshine
While the news of the Bundy gang forcefully taking over a federal building in Oregon may come as a surprise to some, the occupation is part of a larger pattern for those who have studied far-right political movements. Here are five points that provide a greater context for why this is happening, who the occupiers are, and who actually supports their radical viewpoints.

1. It’s actually a land grab — with guns

Despite the talk about supporting the Hammond family in Burns, Oregon, the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters is actually part of a long-standing campaign by radical right-wingers to dismantle federal land ownership in the West. Some elected officials are working through mainstream channels to get lands transferred to state or county governments, or to allow them equal say over their use. But the Malheur takeover seems to be an attempt to spread a tactic of armed federal land takeovers. These armed groups are part of the “Patriot movement”—the successor to the 1990s militia movement—which has seen a rebirth since the election of Barack Obama in 2008.

[...]

3. The ‘Patriot’ movement is a child of the White Power movement

Many of the tactics and talking points being used were popularized in the 1970s by the white supremacist group Posse Comitatus. This group promoted the “Christian Patriot” movement, advocated the formation of “Citizens Militias,” helped forge an idiosyncratic reading of the Constitution, said the county sheriff was the highest elected official that should be obeyed, and opposed federal environmental restrictions.

Over the years, these ideas took on a life of their own, even though few of the activists using these ideas today are ideological white supremacists. For example, they still try to recruit county sheriffs; the sheriff in Harney County (where Burns is located) was asked to provide sanctuary for the Hammonds from the federal government. He refused.

Activists such as Cliven Bundy’s son, Ammon Bundy (who is leading the Malheur occupation), claim that what is happening to the Hammonds is unconstitutional. This view of the Constitution is based on a position promoted by Posse Comitatus. They held that the Constitution could be interpreted by individual right-wing activists in a way that allowed them to have more jurisdiction than federal courts do. The Sovereign Citizens are the best-known movement that promotes these crank legal theories today. For example, Pete Santilli, who livestreamed the Burns march and went to the Malheur takeover, promotes these ideas.

4. Federal government policies have allowed this situation to happen

Although there is no written federal rule that is publicly known, those who study the radical right largely believe that the federal government has a policy not to directly confront armed right-wing groups. The disastrous handling of the Waco and Ruby Ridge sieges in the early 1990s apparently convinced the feds to take a softer approach. This seemed to have paid off when the Sovereign Citizens at the “Justus Township” surrendered peacefully in 1996. But after 9/11, even as the feds have cracked down hard on all kinds of radical political activity (for example, many eco-saboteurs who never killed or injured anyone were sentenced under terrorism laws), the radical right has received almost a complete pass.

The April 2014 standoff at Cliven Bundy’s Nevada ranch—when Patriot movement activists came to the aid of a radical right-wing rancher who refused to pay his fees for grazing on public land and trained rifles on federal agents—was taken as a green light for similar actions. The federal government has not prosecuted Cliven Bundy or his allies for anything that happened there. This has apparently convinced the Bundy family (three of whom reportedly are at Malheur) that the feds will acquiesce to armed takeovers.

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'Militiaman' Occupying Oregon Wildlife Refuge is a Convicted Murderer — Says He Can Still Legally Carry a Gun (Video)

The level of garbage among the "militiamen" who are hiding behind The Constitution and squatting on the wildlife refuge in Oregon is absolutely stunning.

Neil Sigurd Wampler: The convicted murderer pleaded "not guilty by reason of insanity" at his trial.  So we have a gun-packing mad man among the squatters at the Oregon wildlife refuge.

By David Edwards
Seil Sigurd Wampler, one of the militants who joined the armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge early on, insisted that he is allowed to carry a firearm — even though he was convicted of murdering his father.

An investigation by The Oregonian revealed this week that Wampler, 68, had been convicted of second-degree murder in 1977, when he was 29.

According to police reports, Wampler hit his father in the head with a 16-inch rod, and then hitchhiked to a liquor store, where he called police to confess. He later pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in 1981.

Although Wampler denied to the paper that he was the murderer, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla confirmed that the militant in question was Wampler after watching a YouTube video recorded at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Cipolla noted that Wampler’s murder conviction prohibits him from having a firearm. Wampler, however, insisted that he could legally carry a gun.

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'Militiamen' Who Occupy Oregon Refuge Have Few Supporters: Conservation Groups Demand End to Refuge Occupation

By TERRENCE PETTY
With the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon in its third week, Ammon Bundy and his group are still trying to muster up broad community support — so far without much luck.

Bundy has drawn a lot of attention to the dissatisfaction of ranchers and local townsfolk with federal land-use policies in the West. But the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has also begun to result in pushback from others who use public lands — birders, hunters and hikers, among others.

Here are some things to know about how conservation groups are trying to rally public pressure on Bundy to leave, and what Bundy is doing to try to win more sympathizers.

GROWING PUSHBACK AGAINST THE OCCUPATION

On Tuesday night in Burns, Bundy attended a tense community meeting and listened as residents chanted at him to "go."

He didn't speak at the meeting that was held for residents to talk about the occupation.

Some of the several hundred community members spoke to Bundy directly. One thanked him for raising awareness around issues of public lands, but told him it's time to go home to his family.

Many others were less congenial and voiced anger at Bundy's group as well as the local and federal government for what some said was a lack of effort to end the takeover.

Bundy and his small posse left after the meeting without incident.

Earlier in the day, several hundred people rallied in Portland — about 300 miles north of the remote refuge in southeastern Oregon — to demand Bundy end the occupation and to point out that federal management makes it possible for all kinds of people to enjoy public lands.

Protesters chanted "Birds, Not Bullies," a reference to the Malheur refuge's creation in 1908 as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. The rally was organized by Oregon Wild, Portland Audubon and the Center for Biological Diversity.

"This occupation represents a threat to public lands," said Bob Sallinger with the Audubon Society. "These are not political statements. These are crimes."

In Boise, more than 100 people attended a similar protest Tuesday in front of the Idaho Capitol. Ann Finley, a member of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, said that the refuge is a special place.

"I love our free lands, and we're out here today stepping out and saying those lands should remain public," Finley said.

Conservation groups have also shown up at the refuge itself to demand that Bundy and his followers leave, and last weekend got into a shouting match with Bundy's group.

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Oregon's 'Militiamen' Squatters Did Not Have Permission to Vandalize Property Says Rancher

Tim Puckett's crew make repairs to a public fence that was cut by militants to give access for his livestock to refuge land two days ago. Puckett was unaware of their plan and is repairing the fence.

Rancher: 'I didn't know anything' about Bundy entering property, destroying fence

By Luke Hammill
Tim Puckett, the rancher whose cattle graze private rangeland adjoining the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, said he didn't give Ammon Bundy and his band of armed militants permission to enter the ranch Monday afternoon and destroy a publicly owned fence.

"I am very upset," Puckett told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

His ranch hands have already repaired the fence.

"They're not coming onto my place no more," he said of the militants. "If they do, I'm gonna have to do something about it. I don't want them going across my ground."

Puckett said he has never spoken to Bundy, the leader of a militant group that has occupied the refuge headquarters compound since Jan. 2. The militants are protesting the federal government's land-use policies, advocating for public property to be turned over to local ranchers and loggers.

Bundy, an Arizona businessman and son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, claimed Monday that Puckett gave him permission to enter the ranch and that Puckett actually asked the militants to cut out the fence so his cattle could graze on more land – which is publicly owned refuge land.

Puckett told The Oregonian/OregonLive, "I didn't know anything about it" until late Monday night.

"They didn't have my permission to do anything," Puckett said.

Bundy and the group of militants used equipment owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove 20 to 30 yards of barbed wire fence installed by that agency. The stunt, covered by a wide array of media, was perhaps the militants' boldest move since overtaking the refuge. To the militants, agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management are symbols of federal government overreach. Puckett acknowledged that one of his representatives at the ranch showed the militants where the fence was and allowed them on the property. But the representative did not give them permission to tear out the fence, he said.

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Oregon 'Militiamen' Occupier Supporter Who Planned Anti-Obama March - Shoots His Partner in a Fight Over a Gun

Dumb and Dumber: Vincent Smith (left) shot Charles Carter in what was said to be a drunken fight over a gun.

By Travis Gettys
Planning for a cross-country march to “restore America” — which is related to the Oregon nature preserve standoff — appears to have hit a snag when one of its organizers shot the other co-founder Monday afternoon during a drunken argument over a gun.

Sheriff’s deputies in Grayson County, Texas, have not released details about the fatal shooting, but social media posts by right-wing “patriots” associated with militants occupying an Oregon nature preserve identified the victim and shooter as the organizers of the Paul Revere 2016 Final March To Restore America.

“Dear friends it’s my dearest regrets to have to share this heart breaking new (sic) with you tonight. That OUR fellow patriot and brother Charles Carter is no longer with us. He gone to be with Jesus. Today killed by a fellow patriot Vincent Smith. Who was suppose (sic) to be his brother in arms and friend,” posted online radio host Keith Williams, who described himself as the victim’s next of kin.

Bill Williamson, another right-wing “patriot” associated with the Oregon militants, said in a Facebook post that Smith shot Carter in a drunken dispute over a gun.

Williamson, an organizer of the failed 2 Million Bikers 2 DC rally, said he had been communicating with Carter through Facebook messages minutes before his friend attacked Smith.

He said Carter was intoxicated and pulled Smith’s gun from its holster, but Smith drew a “spare gun” and shot his friend in the head.

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ISIS Supporter Joins the 'Patriots' Who Are Occupying Oregon Land Stolen From Native Americans

David Fry Loves Both ISIS and Hitler: And now he's a Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupier. Seriously - Many of these "militiamen" occupiers in Oregon appear to be crazier than Daffy Duck. (Screen captured from YouTube video)

By David Edwards
A militant who recently joined Ammon Bundy’s armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as the resident computer expert is a follower of Adolf Hitler and has expressed support for ISIS.

David Fry told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he drove from Ohio to join the occupation because he knew that the other militants “were pretty good people.”

“It was (a) miracle, that I got here,” Fry said. “I’ve had quarrels with the government myself, and I feel there has to be some point where people have to put their foot down against the problems.”

Earlier this week, Fry recorded a video from one of the government buildings that militants are using as a computer and media center. He explained that he had created a website for the occupation.

Fry confirmed to Oregon Public Broadcasting that he had used government computers to create the website.

“I am using any computer I can use,” he said. “Their data is perfectly preserved … you can’t access any of that, it’s got encryption on it.”

During an examination of Fry’s social media accounts, Oregon Public Broadcasting found that he had posted in support of the Islamic State and frequently praised Adolf Hitler.

“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS FOR ISIS TO NUKE ISRAELHELL!” Fry wrote in November.

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Oregon 'Militia' Leader Will Be Billed $70,000 a Day for Security Costs to the County

Judge Steve Grasty (Facebook)

By Travis Gettys
An Oregon judge says he will bill Ammon Bundy up to $70,000 a day to reimburse Harney County for security costs related to the ongoing occupation of a wildlife refuge.

Local schools reopened Monday for the first time since Bundy and other militants seized a visitors center Jan. 2 at the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve and demanded the transfer of federally owned land to the county, reported KTVZ-TV.

Bundy and other militants used a backhoe owned by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove fences separating federal land from property owned by a local rancher.

#Oregonstandoff breaches fence between government and private ground. pic.twitter.com/s74SMJtWka

— Anna King (@AnnaKingN3) January 11, 2016

Bundy said the militants had rifled through files at the occupied building looking for evidence of wrongdoing, but he insisted they had not accessed computers — although public radio reporters witnessed them doing that.

WATCH: Teen chokes up at town meeting asking Bundy to leave, says ‘I shouldn’t have to be scared in my own hometown’

Some of the Fish and Wildlife employees have been relocated from their homes “out of an abundance of caution” in case their personal information, including home addresses, had been accessed by the militants.

They have also changed a sign outside the wildlife refuge to identify the occupied building as the “Harney County Resource Center,” although it’s not clear how the notoriously cash-strapped militants paid for the new sign.

"At least the gov't gives us a vote; I didn't get a vote on that sign" #Oregonstandoff pic.twitter.com/J3njMJlLcz

— Dave Killen (@killendave) January 12, 2016

Sheriff David Ward, who has said he agrees with the militants’ views but not their tactics, has set up concrete barriers and other security measures around his office and the courthouse after the militants or their supporters threatened him and other county officials.

Ward issued a statement Monday vowing that he and other law enforcement officials “will not be intimidated,” and he repeated his call for the out-of-state militants to leave the area.

“There’s an hourglass, and it’s running out,” Ward said as cheers erupted at a public meeting Monday night. “Go home.”

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Gun Packing 'Militiamen' Can Now Add Looting and Vandalism to Their Oregon 'Occupation'

By Rick Bowmer
The leader of a small, armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon said Monday he and his followers are going through government documents stored inside refuge buildings.

Ammon Bundy told reporters the documents will be used to "expose" how the government has discriminated local ranchers who use federal land for cattle grazing.

Bundy said the documents would also help secure the release of Steven and Dwight Hammond, two area ranchers convicted of arson who returned to prison last week to serve longer sentences. The Hammonds' case set off the occupation of the Burns-area refuge on Jan. 2.

Bundy said his group is not accessing government computers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, including personnel files.

After the news conference, the group drove in a convoy to a ranch near the refuge and tore down a stretch of government-erected fence. The goal, according to the armed men, was to give the rancher access to the range that had been blocked for years. It's not clear where the fence was located or which rancher sought the group's help.

The refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Spokesman Jason Holm said because the documents and files at the refuge may have personally identifiable information, the agency "is taking necessary steps to ensure employee and family safety."

The agency strongly condemned the destruction of the fence and said the action undermines hard-earned conservation impacts achieved in the area.

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