When Your 'White Privilege' Runs Out: Cliven Bundy Ordered Held — Defiance of Court Orders Cited

The gun-packing racist rancher was called "lawless and violent'' by prosecutors

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

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Judge orders Cliven Bundy held, citing 'ongoing defiance of federal court orders'

By Maxine Bernstein
A federal judge Tuesday ordered Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy to remain in custody pending trial on a complaint stemming from his 2014 standoff with federal agents trying to round up his cattle grazing on public land.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart found Bundy, 69, remains a danger to the community and a risk to flee, citing his "ongoing defiance of federal court orders.''

Bundy is expected to return to Nevada for his next court appearance, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada.

He was arrested by FBI agents last Wednesday night after he flew into Portland International Airport.

Bundy had come to Portland intending to protest against the continued detention of his sons, Ammon Bundy, 40, and Ryan Bundy, 43, and their co-defendants, stemming from their armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He also planned to travel to the refuge outside of Burns to support four occupiers still there. That changed when FBI agents swept in and took him into custody at the airport shortly after he landed at 10:10 p.m.

A six-count federal complaint out of Nevada charges Cliven Bundy with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, assault on a federal law enforcement officer, obstruction of justice, interference with commerce by extortion and two counts of carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

The complaint alleges that Bundy and four unnamed co-conspirators organized and led a massive armed assault against federal officers in and around Bunkerville, Nevada, in April 2014 to thwart them from seizing and removing 400 cattle on public land.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre argued that Cliven Bundy is "lawless and violent,'' drawing supporters to his ranch to prevent federal officers from doing their job.

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

Harris Neck Camp-In. (Screen capture from YouTube video)

By Travis Gettys
After a group of armed militants seized an Oregon nature preserve earlier this month, many wondered: What would have happened if they were black?

It’s impossible to know for sure, of course, but there is a somewhat recent historical precedent that offers some clues, reported The Oregonian.

In 1979, 40 members of People Organized for Equal Rights set up camp on a federal nature preserve south of Savannah, Georgia — where their ancestors had lived for generations.

A white plantation owner had deeded the land to a former slave after the Civil War, and other freed slaves and their descendant moved to the area — known as Harris Neck — to live, work, fish and farm for decades.

That all came to an abrupt end in 1942, when the U.S. military took over Harris Neck through eminent domain and gave residents three weeks to leave.

Black landowners were paid significantly less for their land than white landowners in the area, the newspaper reported, and the government destroyed the houses, factories and farms they had built.

The government abandoned the airbase it built in their community after World War II, and the land was eventually converted into the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge.

In 1972, 26 families who are direct descendants of the original inhabitants organized to reclaim the land — and they staged a “camp-in” seven years later to force the government to recognize their cause.

The unarmed protesters set up a camp at the nature preserve, and they asked for $50 million in reparations to rebuild the churches, schools, businesses and homes that were bulldozed by the government almost 40 years earlier.

By contrast, the armed militants have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, demanding the transfer of federal land to the control of an extralegal county government they created and the release of two ranchers convicted of arson — who asked the militiamen to leave before they voluntarily reported to prison.

For nearly two weeks now, the out-of-state militants with few ties to eastern Oregon have given news conferences, issued demands and threatened violent confrontations with authorities.

But that’s not what happened nearly 37 years ago in Georgia.

Federal authorities secured a court order to remove the “squatters” one day after they set up camp at Harris Neck — but four of the unarmed protesters refused to leave.

They were “forcibly removed” May 2, 1979 — just three days after they arrived on the land where their parents and grandparents had farmed, hunted and fished.

The four men were each sentenced to a month in jail for trespassing, and courts have ruled that the land belongs to the U.S. government — and not to the slaves’ descendants.

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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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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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Coddling Gun Toting White Right-Wingers: Oregon Standoff Stems From Not Punishing the Bundys in Nevada

When these gun-toting right-wing crackpots start killing law enforcement officers - the government will have only itself to blame: "It is a felony to point a weapon at a law enforcement officer and a federal felony to take aim at a U.S. government agent. And yet there were no arrests that day."

By David Neiwert
It has become a familiar scene: a cluster of armed “patriots” gathered at a rural locale in the West, protesting federal land-use policies and disputing the legitimacy of the government back in Washington, while nearby, law enforcement officers act stunned into submission.

That all unfolded again this past week in Burns, Ore., as a group of activists with guns seized a federal building on a wildlife refuge and demanded freedom for a couple of ranchers convicted of arson and sentenced to mandatory minimum prison terms, in what they claim is another example of extreme federal overreach.

Who Are the Bundy's: The father believes blacks were better off as slaves,
and the sons are just as wacky.

The local school district shut down, since it couldn’t guarantee the safety of children traveling to and from school. Burns residents expressed agitation and exasperation with the standoff, since most, if not all, of the participants appear to live outside Harney County. The sheriff requested that the two dozen or so men holed up at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge pack up and leave town.

If the news from Oregon seemed like deja vu all over again, that’s because it was: At the head of the protest were Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. Back in April 2014, Cliven grabbed headlines by holding Bureau of Land Management officials at bay in an armed standoff on his ranch in which bloodshed was, by all accounts, only narrowly averted.

So why do federal officials once again find themselves in this position — awkwardly wringing their hands in hopes that the radicals’ demands and willpower will erode with a little time and cold weather? And facing the same cast of characters who humiliated law enforcement officials less than two years ago?

The answer, to a large extent, lies in that Nevada canyon where Bundy’s compatriots aimed their weapons at the federal agents and police officers who had come to enforce a court order requiring the confiscation of the ranch’s cattle, after Bundy refused for years to pay federal grazing fees for using public lands. When those guns were brandished, multiple violations of federal and state law occurred: It is a felony to point a weapon at a law enforcement officer and a federal felony to take aim at a U.S. government agent.

And yet there were no arrests that day. Moreover, despite the FBI’s assumption shortly afterward of the investigation into weapons use at the Bundy ranch — along with vows to hold the people responsible for the standoff fully accountable — no meaningful action has yet been taken against anyone involved.

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Cliven Bundy Still Owes the U.S. $1 Million. What Are the Feds Doing to Collect It? — NOTHING

It's definitely a shame that he's still been allowed to keep grazing and basically suffer no consequences despite the fact that he still owes $1 million to taxpayers
- Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities, on Cliven Bundy

By Matt Pierce
The law was clear: Cliven Bundy's cattle had been grazing on public land — illegally — for years. The Bureau of Land Management said so, and so did the U.S. Department of Justice. The federal courts agreed.

But when the BLM tried to enforce the law — by seizing the Nevada rancher's livestock in 2014 — a ragtag band of militiamen rode to Bundy's defense. After an armed standoff in the desert, federal officials released Bundy's cattle and retreated, soundly defeated.

Almost two years later, as Bundy's sons Ammon and Ryan and a small group of armed militiamen threaten a similar showdown by refusing to leave an Oregon wildlife refuge, Cliven Bundy still owes more than $1 million in grazing fees.

Both cases have raised uncomfortable questions about whether the Bundys are getting off easy and about what happens when demonstrators prevent the government from enforcing its own laws.

The standoff in Oregon has drawn the attention of Black Lives Matter activists who have protested law enforcement's regular use of deadly force across the nation, with seemingly little effect on the number of shootings by police. The government, meanwhile, isn’t saying much about what it’s doing to get the money Bundy owes.

Federal officials seem to have shied away from confrontation to avoid re-creating the bloody Waco and Ruby Ridge standoffs of the 1990s, which galvanized antigovernment radicals like 1995 Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

“The two [Bundy standoffs], I think, are indicative of a problem, and that is: When you have people who are publicly proclaiming their defiance of the law and doing it in a potentially violent way, how do you deal with it?” said Patrick Shea, director of the BLM from 1997 to 1999, who was the first to sue Cliven Bundy for illegal grazing.

“Because if you deal with it in an incorrect manner like at Waco or Ruby Ridge, you tend to enhance their status as martyrs,” Shea said.

In Cliven Bundy's case, the 2014 showdown stemmed from the rancher's belief that federal lands belong to the states because of state sovereignty.

In November 1998, a federal judge permanently banned Bundy, whose ranch is located about 90 miles north of Las Vegas, from grazing his livestock on a swath of federal land known as the Bunkerville Allotment and ordered him to remove his cattle by the end of the month. Bundy didn’t.

Instead, Bundy allowed his cattle to graze on even broader areas of federal land run by the BLM and the National Park Service.

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Squad of Armed Terrorists Arrive To Bolster Oregon Occupiers, Get Sent Away — Town Wants Them All Gone

Oregon Refuge Occupiers Send Armed Group Away; Community Wants Them All Gone

By MIKE GUDGELL,JOHN CAPELL
They rolled up in a long convoy of pickup trucks and utility vehicles -- members of Idaho’s 3 percent group and the Pacific Patriot Network. Heavily armed, assault rifles at the ready, they waded into the dwindling number of media and others at the entrance of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge headquarters today and took over a press conference arranged by the group occupying the reserve, led by Ammon Bundy.

It's the latest in a series of conflicts or missteps between groups pressing different causes that have been drawn to the refuge. Earlier this week there was a fistfight between rival groups seeking attention or a way to press their own case for change.

"We are here to create a safety buffer," 3 percent leader Brandon Curtiss told the media, but not long after that, Curtiss and his followers came back from inside the reserve and left, after being told they were not needed.

"The Bundys have tried to put the word out -- we don't need you, it is the last thing we need or want to here," attorney Todd McFarlane, who is close to the Bundy team, told ABC News.

[...]

At a community meeting here this past week, almost all those attending supported the Harney County Sheriff David Ward’s efforts to end the occupation. They wanted Bundy's group gone.

Bundy has said he and his group will leave when the residents are organized and able to get a "redress of their grievances," but even the community activist group he helped start, the Harney County Committee on Safety, has sent a letter to Bundy thanking him but telling him and all those at the refuge that it's time to go.

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