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occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (pictured here in 2008) was occupied by militias on January 2, 2016.
Date	January 2, 2016 – present
Location	Harney County, Oregon, United States (30 miles south of Burns, Oregon)
Status	Ongoing
Parties
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Oregon State Police Harney County Sheriff's Office Citizens for Constitutional Freedom 3 Percenters Various anti-government protesters
Lead figures
Richard Evans (Oregon State Police) David Ward (Harney County Sheriff) Ammon Bundy Jon Ritzheimer Ryan Payne Blaine Cooper Ryan Bundy
Number
FBI - unknown Oregon State Police - unknown Harney County Sheriff's Office - 5 personnel ~32 personnel from other departments Burns Paiute Tribal Police - unknown 20 to 25 (The Oregonian estimate) 12 (The Guardian estimate) 6 to 15 (Oregon Public Broadcasting estimate) 150 (militia claim)
Show map of the United StatesShow map of Oregon

On January 2, 2016, armed anti-government members of rump militias occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Their demands include a transfer of ownership of the refuge to private interests, more lenient sentences for two area ranchers convicted of arson, and an inquiry into whether the government is forcing ranchers off their land. Some of the militia members stated that they were ready to "kill and be killed" in the standoff, and are with women and children in a move some descibe as using to human shields.

Stating a desire to avoid experiences like the 1992 shootout at Ruby Ridge and the 1993 siege in Waco, Texas, authorities say they are using a low-key approach designed to reduce tensions – similar to the methods they say they used to peacefully end the 2014 standoff with Cliven Bundy, father of the leader of the present occupation. Others say the failure to mount a forceful police response and vigorous criminal prosecutions are encouraging militia enrollment and increasing acts of intimidation against local law enforcement and federal land managers.

The takeover has also sparked a debate in the U.S. on the meaning of the word "terrorist" and how the media and law enforcement treat situations involving people of different ethnicities or religions, as well as causing concern about damage to the local economy due to loss of refuge-related tourism.

Background

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in rural southeastern Oregon was established by outdoorsman and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Located in the Pacific flyway, it has "staggering avian resources" and is "one of the premiere sites for birds and birding in the U.S.", according to the National Audobon Society. Refuge-related tourism, especially birding, injects $15 million into the local economy annually.

Harney County

Harney County is a rural county in southeastern Oregon. Although it is one of the largest counties in the United States, its population is about 7,700, and cattle outnumber people 14-to-1. About 75 percent of the county's area is federal land, variously managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Forest Service agencies. Besides ranching and farming, forestry and manufacturing are important industries in the county.

Public land privatization movement

Since at least the 1940's there has been pressure on the federal government to liquidate its extensive holdings of public lands (e.g., national forests, national parks, acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management, etc). In the 1970's advocates of privatization mounted a renewed effort known as the "Sagebrush Rebellion" and for a time in the 1980's as the "Wise Use Movement". At least 11 states have explored the possibility of taking back federally-managed public lands in recent years, and the militants' occupation of the refuge is fueling the debate.

Catalyst for present stand-off in Harney County

Cattle ranching in Harney County predates the 1908 establishment of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) with some cattle trails, including those used by the Hammond family, dating to the 1870s. Disputes between cattle ranchers and the federal government over management of the MNWR have gone on for "generations" and the situation has regularly deteriorated to taunts and threats directed at federal officials from ranchers since at least the early 1970s. With this backdrop, ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond have had several years of conflict with federal land managers.

Dwight Hammond, a cattle rancher in Harney County, owns 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of land, much of which abuts public land. In 1994, Hammond and his son Steve obstructed the construction of a fence to delineate the boundary between the two parcels of property, prompting their arrest by federal agents. According to federal officials, construction of the fence was needed to stop the Hammond cattle from moving along a cattle trail that intersected public land after the Hammonds had repeatedly violated the terms of their permit, which limited when they could move their cows across refuge property. Officials also reported Hammond had made threats against them in 1986 and 1988, including telling one public lands manager that he was going to "tear off his head and shit down his neck". They also contended that Steve Hammond had called them "assholes".

Following their release from jail on recognizance, a rally attended by 500 other cattle ranchers was held in support of the Hammonds in Burns, and then-congressman Robert Freeman Smith wrote a letter of protest to the United States Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt. Voters, angry that it had not intervened on the Hammonds' behalf, successfully recalled two members of the Harney County Court. Charges against the Hammonds were later dropped.

In 1999, Steve Hammond started a fire with the intent of burning off juniper trees and sagebrush, but the fire escaped onto BLM land. The agency reminded Hammond of the required burn permit and that if the fires continued, there would be legal consequences. Both Dwight and Steve Hammond would later go on to set two additional fires that would lead to arson convictions.

Hammond arson case

In 2012, a federal district court jury found Dwight and Steve Hammond guilty of arson, for fires they had started on the federal land adjacent to their property in 2001 and 2006.

The 2001 Hardie-Hammond Fire began, according to Probation Officer Robb, when hunters in the area witnessed the Hammonds illegally slaughter a herd of deer. Less than two hours later, a fire erupted and forced the hunters to leave the area. Later, Steve's nephew Dusty Hammond testified that his uncle told him to start lighting matches and "light the whole countryside on fire." Dusty also testified that he was "almost burned up in the fire" and had to flee for his life. The Hammonds have falsely claimed they started the fire to stop invasive plants from growing onto their grazing fields.

The 2006 Krumbo Butte Fire started out as a wildfire, but several illegal backburns were set by the Hammonds with the intent to protect their winter feed. The backfires were set under the cover of night without warning the firefighting camp that was known to be on the slopes above. According to the indictment, the fires threatened to trap four BLM firefighters, one of whom later confronted Dwight Hammond at the fire scene after having moved his crews to avoid the threat. Two days later, Steve Hammond threatened to frame a BLM employee with arson if he didn't stop the investigation.

Following their conviction, federal prosecutors requested a five-year sentence for each of the Hammonds as provided for under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). The AEDPA provides that arson on federal land carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. U.S. District Judge Michael Robert Hogan determined sentences of that length "would shock the conscience" and would violate the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. On his last day on the bench, October 31, 2012, Hogan instead sentenced Dwight Hammond to three months' imprisonment and Steve Hammond to a year and a day's imprisonment, which both men served. In what was described by media as a "rare" action, U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall successfully appealed the sentence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which upheld the mandatory-minimum law, writing that "given the seriousness of arson, a five-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the offense." The court vacated the original sentence and remanded for resentencing. The Hammonds filed petitions for certiorari with the Supreme Court, which the court rejected in March 2015. In October 2015, Chief Judge Ann Aiken re-sentenced the pair to five years in prison (with credit for time served), ordering that they return to prison on January 4, 2016. Both of the Hammonds reported to prison in California on January 4 in accordance with the law.

In a separate 2014 civil judgment, the Hammonds were ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution to the U.S. government for the related arson fires. The pair paid half the amount immediately and the remaining $200,000 in December 2015.

Opposition to sentences

A petition requesting leniency for the Hammonds began circulating prior to their resentencing. Organized by the Oregon Farm Bureau, it had gathered more than 2,000 signatures by October 2015 and the pair's attorney said he hoped it would convince President Barack Obama to grant clemency. Meanwhile, the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, a trade group representing cattle ranchers in Oregon, established a fund to defray the Hammond's legal fees.

In about October 2015, the Hammond case had attracted the attention of Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne. The pair had been actively looking for a cause to adopt since the conclusion of the Bundy standoff in May 2014. Beginning in early November, Bundy and his associates began publicizing the case via social media. Over the ensuing weeks, Bundy and Payne met for approximately eight hours with Harney County Sheriff David Ward to detail plans for what they described would be a peaceful protest in Burns, as well as also requesting the sheriff's office protect the Hammonds from being taken into custody by federal authorities. Though Ward said he sympathized with the Hammonds' plight, he declined Bundy and Payne's request. Ward said that he subsequently received death threats by email. Unbeknownst to Ward, Bundy and Payne were simultaneously planning a takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. By late fall, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies had become aware members of anti-government militias had started to relocate to Harney County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began circulating a photograph of Ammon Bundy with instructions for staff to "be on the lookout."

Despite several early meetings with Bundy and Payne, the Hammonds eventually rejected their offers of assistance with Hammond attorney W. Alan Schroeder writing that "neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his group/organization speak for the Hammond family." When later asked about the occupation, Susan Hammond, the wife of Dwight Hammond, was dismissive and said, "I don't really know the purpose of the guys who are out there."

Occupation

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Prelude (December 2015 – January 2, 2016)

Ammon Bundy, the leader of the group now calling themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, said he began leading the occupation after receiving a divine message ordering him to do so.

By early December 2015, Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne had set up residence in Burns. The same month, they organized a meeting at the Harney County fairgrounds to rally support for their efforts. At the meeting, a "Committee of Safety" was organized to orchestrate direct action against the Hammond sentences. According to that group's website, the Committee of Safety considers itself "a governmental body established by the people in the absence of the ability of the existing government to provide for the needs and protection of civilized society" (during the American Revolution, committees of safety were shadow governments organized to usurp authority from colonial administrators).

On December 30, 2015, USFWS staff members at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were dismissed early from work. With tensions rising in nearby Burns, supervisors left staff with the final instruction not to return to the Refuge unless explicitly instructed. Meanwhile, some residents of Burns reported harassment and intimidation by militia members. According to the spouses and children of several federal employees and local police, they had been followed home or to school by vehicles with out-of-state license plates.

On January 1, 2016, a privately organized public forum held at the Harney County fairgrounds was attended by about 60 local residents and members of militias. A Burns-area resident who organized the event described it as an opportunity to defuse tensions that had been simmering between locals and out-of-town militia in the preceding days. According to press accounts, the event lasted about two hours and "shifted from sometimes profanity-laden declarations to agreements the Hammonds had been too harshly treated and that a peaceful rally might do some good."

At noon on January 2, a crowd of about 300 gathered in the parking lot of a Safeway grocery store in Burns. Following 40 minutes of speeches, the crowd marched one mile to the home of Dwight and Steve Hammond, stopping briefly en route to protest outside the sheriff's office. The crowd then returned to the same Safeway and broke up, the entire march lasting approximately ninety minutes. According to KOIN-TV, there was "no visible police presence at any point."

Initial occupation (January 2)

Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy – along with Jon Ritzheimer and armed associates, separated from the protest crowd at some point during the day and proceeded to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), 30 miles away. There, they began occupying unstaffed buildings on the property and set up a roadblock on an access drive. In a video posted to his Facebook page, Ammon Bundy called on supporters to converge on the facility which he described as "the tool to do all the tyranny that has been placed upon the Hammonds." According to The Oregonian, Ryan Bundy has stated that the group wants the Hammonds to be released and for the federal government to relinquish control of the Malheur National Forest.

At 4:02 p.m. on January 2, the official Facebook page of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge posted an update that read: "The Refuge will be CLOSED until further notice." The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates the MNWR, said that all of its staff were safe and the refuge was closed until further notice. The federal Bureau of Land Management announced that its office in Burns would be closed until further notice.

As of January 2, the militia leaders claimed to have 150 armed personnel available at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. A reporter personally witnessed "no more than a dozen" potential combatants. A separate report by Oregon Public Broadcasting put the number of the militia at the MNWR at "between six and 12." In a statement posted to the Facebook page of the Idaho "3 Percenters" (one of the militias identified by media as involved in the takeover), the group disclaimed involvement, stating that the seizure was "carried out by a small group of persons who chose to carry out this takeover after the rally."

The Harney County Sheriff's Office initially reported that the Oregon State Police was "handling the incident". At the same time, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the agency was "aware" of the situation. Later that same day, The Guardian observed that there was no visible law enforcement presence in the area. Authorities had not approached the refuge or blocked access to it.

Maureen Peltier, a soldier with the Washington Army National Guard who traveled to Burns to participate in the protest, reported to media on January 3 that the militias who had seized control of the MNWR were in "high spirits" and had "a good security team." Peltier also said that the occupiers were moving children onto the MNWR grounds and had called upon like-minded persons to join them.

The leader of the occupation, Ammon Bundy, and some other Oregon occupiers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church) and have cited the Mormon scripture as justification for defying government authority. One member of the group told the media that his name is "Captain Moroni," a reference to a heroic warrior figure in the Book of Mormon. After the occupation began, the LDS Church issued a statement saying that an armed occupation was not sanctioned by the religion (see below). The event was connected with the lengthy and complex history of conflict between Mormons and the federal government; Alex Beam writes that the standoff has its roots in "Mormon religious fanaticism".

January 3

At 11:00 a.m. on January 3, Ammon Bundy called a press conference at the MNWR headquarters building. During the conference, Bundy said the ultimate goal of the occupiers was to "get the economics here in the county revived" for logging and outdoor recreation, and claimed that they were being supplied by area residents. Despite the smaller estimates of militia at the refuge in early press reports, a reporter from The Oregonian who attended the press conference said he believed there were roughly 20 to 25 people present and that the militants had deployed into defensive positions with elements manning a roadblock, guarding the headquarters entry, and stationed in a fire lookout usually used to watch for forest fires. Additional militiamen occupied the facility's buildings.

Later that day, Sheriff David M. Ward issued a statement asking residents to avoid the scene and saying that the refuge occupiers aimed to overthrow the government. He explained, "These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives, to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States." The following day, Ward said at a press conference:

I want to directly address the people at the wildlife refuge: You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County. That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed and unlawful protest. The Hammonds have turned themselves in. It is time for you to leave our community. Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully.

On the evening of January 3, Oregon State Police officials announced that a multi-agency command center would be established the following day to coordinate a response to the situation. The command center was ultimately set-up at Lincoln Junior High School in Burns, which had been closed as part of a district-wide school shutdown. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said that he had been briefed by the special agent in charge of the Portland FBI field office and said that federal, state, and local law enforcement were monitoring the situation in detail.

Also that same day, the FBI assumed the lead role in the investigation and announced that it was working with local and state authorities to seek "a peaceful resolution to the situation". The statement also read: "Due to safety considerations for both those inside the refuge as well as the law enforcement officers involved, we will not be releasing any specifics with regards to the law enforcement response." It was later announced by Sheriff David Ward that the Harney County Court had officially appealed for police reinforcements from the sheriffs of neighboring counties. Meanwhile, media reported that the entrance gates to Burns Municipal Airport had been blocked by the Oregon State Police using patrol cars and armored vehicles. Despite the increased presence in and around Burns, by the end of the day on January 4, media noted that no overt police presence was visible in the thirty miles between the town and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, seemingly underscoring the cautious approach authorities sought to take.

In taking a cautious approach, federal authorities were thought to "be mindful of prior clashes with people who did not recognize government authority", such as Ruby Ridge in 1992 and the Waco siege in 1993. These events "ended in bloodshed and became rallying cries for antigovernment militants", in contrast to similar standoffs which ended peacefully, such as the 1996 standoff with the Montana Freemen, which was resolved by extended negotiations leading to the group's surrender.

January 4

On January 4, Steve Grasty, the judge-executive of Harney County, emailed Ammon Bundy requesting he leave Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. According to Grasty, he received "roughly 100 'F you'" emails in reply.

As of January 4, the persons occupying the MNWR announced they had organized into an umbrella group called Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. At 1:37 p.m. the same day, Dwight and Steve Hammond voluntarily reported to Terminal Island FCI in California to begin serving the remaining four years of their prison sentences. In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Ammon Bundy's brother, Ryan, said that he and the other persons occupying the MNWR would quit the property "if the county people tell us to". Following the interview, Sheriff David Ward issued a statement requesting the Bundys and others to leave. In response, Ryan Bundy said he wasn't convinced Ward spoke for the county. In a public meeting on January 6 held at the Harney County fairgrounds nearly every attending person, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, raised their hands on a question asking if the occupiers should leave. Ward then announced he would be willing to provide passage to the occupiers to the county line if they would depart voluntarily.

All schools in Harney County closed on January 4 as a safety precaution taken by the local school district. On January 5, the county sheriff's office announced it would host a community meeting to "discuss safety concerns and the disruptions" on the next day.

January 5–7

The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched a publicity stunt on January 5 by sending a delegation to the area to give vegan jerky to militia members.

Also on January 5, The Guardian, quoting a confidential source, reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was preparing to cut power and telephone lines to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, while authorities would seal roads leading to the MNWR headquarters compound. Temperatures in Harney County at the time were well below freezing and the move would be designed to "freeze out" the occupiers. Speaking of a potential police siege, Ammon Bundy said occupiers were "ready and waiting" and, in response to the reports, the group began making preparations to repel a potential attack, including moving logs and construction equipment across access roads to the Refuge. An Oregon Public Broadcasting report later discredited the Guardian's story and the occupiers "stood down" from a higher state of readiness.

Sheriff Ward, meanwhile, told reporters that steps were underway to break the occupation and that the measures authorities were taking would "not be visible to the public". Ward also reported law enforcement personnel from nine Oregon counties had begun converging to Harney County in response to the Harney County Court's earlier plea for help, but that they would be used to bolster courthouse security and increase the visible police presence in populated areas, rather than respond to the situation at the MNWR. Among the agencies to send personnel were the sheriffs of Wasco, Clackamas, Marion, Deschutes, Crook, Umatilla, Multnomah, Baker, and Linn Counties, along with the Burns Paiute tribal police. The sheriffs of Benton and Yamhill Counties both declined a request to deploy some of their deputies to Harney County due to what they described as existing manpower shortages. In a statement reported by KVAL-TV, Ward assured residents that deputies from outside the county would not "harass the good citizens of Harney County" and called on residents to form a "united front". Ward also warned that any resident providing supplies to the occupiers was "prolonging the situation" and that the militia members would face criminal charges.

A fisticuff erupted at the MNWR on the evening of January 6 when three members of a group calling themselves Veterans on Patrol attempted to enter the headquarters compound. According to the group, they had arrived to convince "women and children" to leave. Instead, they were repelled by occupiers. One member of Veterans on Patrol was hospitalized with a black eye.

On January 7, the Harney Electric Cooperative began disconnecting power to the fire guard station in the MNWR in the community of Frenchglen. According to officials, the move was done to prevent militants from relocating to other sites within the Refuge. Later that day, Sheriff Ward, accompanied by the Sheriff of Malheur County, Oregon and the Sheriff of Tillamook County, Oregon, met with Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne. The meeting occurred in what was described as "one of the most remote spots in Oregon", at a location along Lava Bed Road, approximately 20 miles from the site of the occupation. In the meeting, which lasted between five and ten minutes, Ward repeated his earlier offer to provide safe passage to the militants to the Harney County line. Bundy rejected the offer, saying he and his confederates would hold-out until the federal government had surrendered all of its land holdings to local residents. After the meeting, Ward continued to Diamond, Oregon, a town in the central part of Harney County which has a population of 88. There he met with residents.

January 8–10

On the morning of January 8, in preparation for a rumored protest that was being organized in Burns, sheriff's deputies began fortifying the county courthouse, including ring-fencing it with concrete barriers. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported "heavily armed sheriff's deputies" patrolling in the immediate vicinity of the building. Later that day, members of other militias arrived in the area and met with the occupiers and asked their members to establish a perimeter around the occupied area to avoid a "Waco-style situation".

A number of other militia and anti-government groups, including multiple armed men, arrived in Burns, the nearest town, and at the Refuge. The views of the original occupiers to these groups was mixed.

On January 8, the 3 Percenters of Idaho, an Idaho-based militia who had earlier disclaimed support for the occupation, announced it was sending some of its members to "secure a perimeter" around the MNWR compound and prevent "a Waco-style situation". Bundy welcomed the arrival of the additional militants saying "If they weren't here, I'd worry" about a law enforcement raid.

On January 9, the Pacific Patriot Network, a separate militia, arrived in 18 trucks to secure a perimeter around the refuge. However, the occupiers said they were not welcome and the group withdrew afterwards. However, other groups, such as the 3 Percenters, said they were not leaving the area.

In what The Oregonian characterized as "the latest bizarre turn of events," state Rep. Dallas Heard traveled to the Refuge on January 9 with a delegation of elected officials including Judy Boyle, Heather Scott and Sage Dixon of Idaho, and Graham Hunt and Matt Shea of Washington state. The trip was described by Heard as a "fact-finding mission" and occurred over the objections of state Rep. Cliff Bentz and Harney County judge Steve Grasty. The delegation returned to Burns after a brief meeting with the militants.

By January 10, to the apparent exasperation of local officials, an influx of armed groups and individuals was rotating through Burns, with some declaring they were there to support the Malheur occupation, others to try to convince the occupiers to quit, and still others with undefined purposes. At this point in the standoff, occupiers continued to come and go from the refuge without apparent hindrance, with a militia spokesman noting that the Bundys had left the refuge for a period of time that morning to attend church. Some occupiers, meanwhile, left the occupation.

January 11–12

On January 11, schools in the Harney County School District 3 were reopened, albeit with heightened security. Regional offices of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management remained closed, with those employees who could work remotely doing so; officials said there was no schedule for reopening the offices. Meanwhile, the occupiers used a government CAT excavator to take down an 80-foot (24 m) stretch of barbed-wire fence between the refuge and an adjacent ranch, apparently to give the adjacent ranch access to land that had been blocked for years. However, the ranch owners said the occupiers did not have their permission to take down the fence and have since repaired it. The occupiers began searching through government documents stored at the complex in order to find alleged proof of government wrongdoing toward local ranchers. The computers on site have also been used by David Fry to make a website for the occupation called Defend Your Base. Fry also claimed that his online comments appearing to sympathize with Hitler and the Islamic State were "just a joke".

Ward also expressed concern that armed protesters were intimidating federal employees, including following individuals home and observing them there.

On January 12, an occupier announced that the group will hold a community meeting on January 15 to explain their motives and inform residents when they will leave. The same day, Bruce Doucette, the owner of a computer repair shop in Denver, arrived in Burns. Doucette, who previously declared himself a judge, announced he would convene what he described as a "grand jury" to charge government officials with various crimes. During a previous militia rally in 2015, Doucette, who has not attended law school nor ever held judicial office, referred the Denver Post to his Facebook page when asked for documentation of his magistracy. Doucette's claims to be a judge are consistent with legal frauds often practiced by the sovereign citizen movement and other anti-government movements. The Southern Poverty Law Center noted a similarity between Doucette's planned trials and the false trials held by the Montana Freemen group in the 1990s.

Reactions

Anti-government activists

Cliven Bundy, the father of Ammon and Ryan Bundy, said he was not involved in organizing the takeover of the MNWR facilities and added that it was "not exactly what I thought should happen".

Asked about the incident, Mike Vanderboegh, a founder of the 3 Percenters militia, described the occupiers as "a collection of fruits and nuts", described John Ritzheimer as a "fool", and said Ammon Bundy had "a John Brown complex".

The group Oath Keepers (of which Jon Ritzheimer was formerly a member) in a statement published on its website prior to the seizure of the MNWR facilities, said, "e cannot force ourselves or our protection on people who do not want it. Dwight and Steven Hammond have made it clear, through their attorney, that they just want to turn themselves in and serve out their sentence. And that clear statement of their intent should be the end of the discussion on this."

Residents

The New York Times reported that "esidents expressed sympathy with the underlying complaints, but elected officials criticized the armed protesters as an outsider militia group whose actions had thrown their community into a harsh national glare." Former Burns mayor Len Vohs said, "The majority of us support the Hammonds, but we don't need outsiders telling us what to do." He criticized the tactics used by the militiamen, saying that it was "anarchy" and "might is right" thinking. Harney County commissioner Dan Nichols, a neighbor of the Hammond family, made similar comments, saying that he shared frustrations about federal land policy but strongly disagreed with the involvement of armed outsiders.

In a meeting on January 6, local residents nearly unanimously agreed they wanted the occupiers to leave in a show of hands to a question from Harney County Sheriff David Ward, although some expressed agreement with the concerns raised by the milita group over land use issues.

Federal, state, local, and tribal government

On January 4, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, "ltimately this is a local law enforcement matter and the FBI is monitoring the situation and offering support to local law enforcement officials." Earnest added that President Barack Obama was aware of the situation.

In a statement issued January 7, Governor Kate Brown of Oregon said, "I agree that what started as a peaceful and legal protest has become unlawful. It was instigated by outsiders whose tactics we Oregonians don't agree with. Those individuals illegally occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge need to decamp immediately and be held accountable."

In a statement posted to its website on January 4, the Harney County Court said that "the Refuge is under federal jurisdiction. The County Court will stay engaged within the limits of our legal authority. The Hammond family is well respected in Harney County, motivation of the militia groups that have descended on Harney County goes far beyond the troubles of the Hammond family as demonstrated by their actions at the Refuge." The court went on to announce it had ordered increased security at the county courthouse. Harney County Judge Steve Grasty announced that the Bundy group would be billed the security costs incurred by the county as a result of the occupation, estimated at $60,000 to $70,000 per day.

The governing council of the Burns Paiute Tribe, an Indian nation in Harney County, declared the occupiers were endangering the tribe's history by their presence and called on them to leave. Tribal chair Charlotte Rodrique went on to explain that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was the protector of traditional Burns Paiute religious and archaeological sites in the area and that the displacement of federal authorities put such locations at risk.

State Representative Cliff Bentz, who represents the region in the Oregon House of Representatives, said that the outside groups do not represents Burns or Harney County, explaining, "They're trying to use the misfortune of the Hammonds to further the interests of the Bundys."

U.S. Representative Greg Walden of Oregon said in his speech on the floor of the House that "I am not condoning this takeover in any way. I want to make that clear. I don't think it is appropriate. There is a right to protest. I think they have gone too far. But I understand and hear their anger."

In a January 6 press release, the Western State Sheriffs Association (WSSA), an organization representing 800 sheriffs in the Western United States, said its mission was to "promote the office of Sheriff and to assist our member Sheriffs on issues of mutual concern" and that it had offered Harney County Sheriff David Ward to organize out-of-state resources to send to Oregon if requested. The WSSA statement went on to note that it did not "support efforts of any individual or groups who utilize intimidation, threats or fear in order to further an agenda."

Organizations

The Oregon Cattleman's Association, while maintaining it still supported the Hammonds, released a statement that declared it did "not support illegal activity taken against the government. This includes militia takeover of government property, such as the Malheur Wildlife Refuge."

On January 4, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement condemning the militia actions and stating, "While the disagreement occurring in Oregon about the use of federal lands is not a Church matter, Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis." The church also released an excerpt from a 1992 speech by Dallin H. Oaks, a senior Mormon religious leader, criticizing the "excessive zeal" of "those patriots who are participating in or provisioning private armies and making private preparations for armed conflict".

The Audubon Society of Portland, in a written statement, said that the "occupation of Malheur by armed, out of state militia groups puts one of America's most important wildlife refuges at risk. It violates the most basic principles of the public trust doctrine and holds hostage public lands and public resources to serve the very narrow political agenda of the occupiers."

Social media

The militiamen were mocked on social media, with commentators ridiculing the groups as "Y'all Qaeda" (in reference to American dialectical Y'all and the group al-Qaeda). Twitter hashtags such as "#OregonUnderAttack," "#VanillaISIS" (a portmanteau of Vanilla Ice and ISIS), "#Yeehawdists" (Yeehaw and Jihadists), "#Yokelharam" (Yokel and Boko Haram), and #Talibundy (Taliban and the Bundy surname) were used. The militia group asked for their supporters to mail food items to them, and internet trolls sent hate mail and novelty products like double penetration dildos to the address. Reddit users also organized to mail the group massive amounts of glitter.

Some Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) propagandists used attention to the takeover to promote their message of Americans turning against the U.S. government.

Debates over the definition of terrorism

In the midst of the occupation, there has been considerable traditional and social media coverage considering how the media and law enforcement describe and have reacted to the militia occupation. The reaction to the white and Christian occupiers has been contrasted with that to black protesters, e.g. around the Ferguson protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, or to Muslims. Some commentators have described decisions not to label the occupiers as terrorists as an example of white privilege.

The occupiers themselves have drawn the comparison with the Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist demonstrations, with one occupier saying, in contrast to most media reports, they have been more harshly treated than Black Lives Matter protesters. Ammon Bundy was initially reported to have tweeted comparing himself to Rosa Parks, but the post was later reported to have been sent by a hoax account.

See also

• Occupation of Alcatraz
• Sagebrush Rebellion
• Sovereign citizen movement
• Waco siege
• Posse Comitatus
• Wounded Knee incident

References

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148. Ross, Janell (January 3, 2016). "Why aren't we calling the Oregon occupiers 'terrorists'?". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
149. Wright, Crystal (January 4, 2016). "The message from Oregon is clear: black men with guns are thugs, while whites are patriots". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
150. Ali, Wajahat (January 4, 2016). "If the Oregon militiamen were Muslim or black, they'd probably be dead by now". The Guardian. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
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• Criminal justice
• Oregon
• Politics

• Articles to be merged from January 2016
• 2016 crimes in the United States
• 2016 in Oregon
• 2016 protests
• Anti-Federalism
• Armed standoffs in the United States
• Harney County, Oregon
• Land management in the United States
• Law enforcement in Oregon
• Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
• Occupations (protest)
• Ongoing events
• Protests in Oregon
• Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2016
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service
• United States private paramilitary groups