Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (pictured here in 2008) were occupied by militants in early 2016.
Date	January 2, 2016 (2016-01-02) – February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11) (40 days)
Location	Harney County, Oregon, United States (30 miles (48 km) south of Burns, Oregon)
Caused by	Perception that the federal government lacks the constitutional authority to exclusively own and manage public lands in U.S. states[1] Leader under the direction of a divine message
Goals	Short-term: Disrupt the work of federal employees at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge[2] Release of Dwight and Steven Hammond from custody and the establishment of an "independent evidentiary hearing board" by state and county representatives to re-examine the Hammonds' case[3] Long-term: Transfer of federal lands to private ownership or to state, county, or local government control[4]
Methods	Armed standoff on federal property; claim adverse possession of the "land, property and vacant buildings"[5][6] Convene a "citizens grand jury" Encourage the formation of a "committee of safety" Petition[7] Public meetings Rallies and marches Social media and press conferences
Resulted in	26 militants were all indicted and arrested for federal felony conspiracy offenses and some other individual charges. A 27th militant was indicted and arrested for theft of federal property, but not for conspiracy. Twelve have pleaded guilty. One militant was killed while resisting arrest and one militant was wounded before being arrested.
Parties
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)[8] Governor of Oregon Oregon State Police (OSP)[9] Grant County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) [10] Harney County Sheriff's Office (HCSO)[8] Burns Paiute Tribe Burns Paiute Tribal Police[11] Anti-government militants[12][13] Pro-standoff: Citizens for Constitutional Freedom[14][15] Anti-standoff: Pacific Patriots Network[16][17] 3 Percenters of Idaho
Lead figures
Gregory T. Bretzing (FBI Special Agent in Charge) Kate Brown (Oregon Governor) Steven E. Grasty (Harney County Judge) David Ward (Harney County Sheriff) Ammon Bundy Ryan Bundy[18] Brian Cavalier Blaine Cooper[4][19] Robert "LaVoy" Finicum Ryan Payne[19] Jon Ritzheimer
Number
FBI – unknown Oregon State Police – unknown ~37 local police[20][21] 40 (Los Angeles Times estimate) Several dozen (The Washington Post estimate) 20 to 25 (The Oregonian estimate)
Casualties
Death(s)	Robert "LaVoy" Finicum[22]
Injuries	Ryan Bundy[23]
Arrested	27
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The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was an armed occupation and standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, United States, between armed anti-government militants as led by Ammon Bundy, and county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The standoff took place from January 2, 2016, through February 11, 2016, lasting nearly 6 weeks.

The incident began on January 2, when the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon was seized and occupied by an armed group loosely affiliated with various independent non-governmental U.S. militias, and with the sovereign citizen movement, and led by Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven D. Bundy. The standoff was initially justified by the militants as a response to the imprisonment of Oregon cattle ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond for their having been convicted of arson of federal land.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} The underlying rationale underpinning the group's protest of the Hammond's incarceration was the group's belief that the federal government of the United States, as it currently operates, is essentially illegitimate.^[29]

The standoff initially attracted the members of various regional militia groups and the number of militants continued to grow until on January 17, approximately 40 militants were reported to have been engaged in the standoff.^[30] Soon after the leadership of the standoff was apprehended by the Oregon State Police (OSP) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on January 26,^[31] the majority of the occupying militants began to withdraw themselves from the standoff, peacefully returning to their homes.^[32] During the January 26 apprehension operation, one member of the leadership, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, was fatally shot as he refused to comply with police orders, but instead appeared to be reaching for his handgun.^[31]

By January 28, only four militants remained to continue the standoff. Finally on February 11, government and volunteer negotiators were able to persuade the last four remaining militants to surrender their arms and surrender peacefully.^[33] More than two dozen of the militants have been charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft, and depredation of federal property. As of August 15, twelve have pleaded guilty, while others are awaiting trial.^[34][35][36]

Background

Previous armed incursions

The standoff was the fourth in an ongoing series of armed incursions on public lands since the 2014 Bundy standoff, an armed confrontation between protesters and law enforcement that developed from a 20-year legal dispute between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and cattle rancher Cliven Bundy, over unpaid grazing fees on federally owned land in southeastern Nevada. The first post-standoff incursion was an armed show of force and an illegal off-road vehicle ride were staged in San Juan County, Utah, in May 2014. It was followed by another armed show of force in Josephine County, Oregon, in April 2015; and an occupation of U.S. Forest Service land in Montana in August 2015. A network of militias and anti-government activists, including the Bundys, the Oath Keepers, and the Pacific Patriots Network, took part in these events. At least 20 of the militants who occupied the refuge were reported to have participated in the earlier Utah, Oregon, and Montana actions.^[37]

Hammond arson case

In 2012, Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,^[38] were both convicted of two counts of arson on federal land, in relation to two fires they set in 2001 and 2006.^[39][40] In a mid-trial settlement agreement, the Hammonds agreed to not appeal the arson convictions in order to have other charges dismissed by the government. The Hammonds were also told the prosecutor would seek the mandatory minimum sentence of five years.^[41][42] Ultimately, Dwight Hammond was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and his son Steven was sentenced to a year and a day's imprisonment, which both men served.^[43][44] However, in 2015, the sentences were vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which then remanded re-sentencing.^[45][46] In October 2015, a judge re-sentenced the Hammonds to five years in prison (with credit for time served), ordering that they return to prison on January 4, 2016.^[44][46]

As a petition seeking clemency for the Hammonds from President Barack Obama began circulating,^[47] the Hammonds' case attracted the attention of Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne. In November 2015, Bundy and his associates began publicizing the Hammonds' case via social media.^[48][49] Over the ensuing weeks, Bundy and Payne attempted to set up plans for what they described as a peaceful protest with Harney County Sheriff David Ward, as well as request that the sheriff's office protect the Hammonds from being taken into custody by federal authorities. A sympathetic Ward declined Bundy and Payne's request. He later said that he began receiving death threats by email.^[40][50][51]

Despite several early meetings with Bundy and Payne, the Hammonds eventually rejected their offers of assistance.^[9]

Location

Harney County is a rural county in eastern Oregon. The county seat is the city of Burns.^[52][53] Though it is one of the largest counties by area in the United States,^[52][53] its population is only about 7,700,^[52] and cattle outnumber people 14-to-1.^[52] About 75 percent of the county's area is federal land,^[52] variously managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the United States Forest Service (USFS).^[54]

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, located in Harney County, was established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, a conservationist.^[55] Located in the Pacific Flyway, and currently encompassing 187,757 acres (760 km²), it is "one of the premiere sites for birds and birding in the U.S.," according to the Audubon Society of Portland.^[56] Tourism, especially birding, injects US$15 million into the local economy annually.^[57]

Leadership

The leader of the standoff was Ammon Bundy—a car fleet manager from Phoenix, Arizona,^[58] and also the self proclaimed leader of a group which he formed shortly before the standoff, which he named the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. Ammon's father Cliven Bundy had previously organized and led a somewhat similar standoff, the Bundy Standoff roughly two years earlier in March 2014. Both Bundys believed that their armed opposition to the federal government was ordained for them via divine messages ordering them to do so.^[59][60] Both Bundys were also members of the Mormon Church.^[61][62]

Also in a leadership position amongst the militants was the group's occasional spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, also a Mormon, who owned a ranch near Cliven Bundy's ranch, who had notably recently authored a book portraying the imminent apocolyptic collapse of the US Federal government.^[63][64] Ammon's brother, Ryan Bundy was also amongst the militants present, and later arrested at Malheur.

Prelude to the standoff

Unbeknownst to Harney County Sheriff David Ward, while Ammon Bundy and his assistant, Ryan Payne had been initially attempting to persuade Ward to side with them against the federal government regarding the Hammond incarcerations, they had also been planning a takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. By late fall, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies had become aware that members of anti-government militias had started to relocate to Harney County, and the USFWS began circulating a photograph of Ammon Bundy with instructions for staff to "be on the lookout."^[40][50][51]

By early December 2015, Bundy and 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.^[40] According to that group's website, the Harney County 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"^[65] (during the American Revolution, committees of safety were shadow governments organized to usurp authority from colonial administrators).^[66]

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.^[51] 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.^[67]

On January 1, 2016, a 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. It was unclear how the group should proceed. The event alternated between expressions of sympathy for the Hammonds and suggestions that a peaceful rally could be beneficial.^[68]

On January 2, a rally of about 300 people gathered in a Safeway supermarket parking lot in Burns, organized by the Pacific Patriots Network (PPN), a militia umbrella organization that includes the 3 Percenters of Idaho.^[69] Members of the Pacific Patriots Network had been active in Harney County since November, drawn there by the Hammond arson case.^[69] Following speeches, the crowd marched to the home of Dwight and Steven Hammond, stopping briefly en route to protest outside the sheriff's office and the county courthouse. The crowd then returned to the Safeway parking lot and broke up. According to KOIN, the CBS-affiliated television station in Portland, Oregon, there was "no visible police presence at any point."^[50][70]

Armed standoff

First week

Before the protest crowd broke up, Ammon Bundy announced to the crowd his plan to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and he encouraged people to join him. His announcement surprised a PPN rally organizer, who later stated he felt betrayed.^[16] Ammon and Ryan Bundy—along with armed associates—separated from the crowd and proceeded to the refuge headquarters, located 30 miles (48 km) south of Burns.^[4] The militants settled into the refuge and set up defensive positions.^[8] Right before the standoff began, the militants notified the Harney County Sheriff's Office and also contacted a utility company with the intention of taking over the refuge's electric and other services, according to a motion to dismiss and memorandum filed by Ammon Bundy's lawyers on May 9.^[6][71]

Law enforcement kept away from the refuge,^[8][50][72] but various security measures were taken in surrounding areas.^[73][74] By the evening of January 4, no overt police presence was visible in the area between the town and the refuge headquarters.^[73] Upon hearing of the standoff at the wildlife refuge, the two ranchers on whose behalf the militants were ostensibly acting disavowed the standoff at the refuge.^[75]

On January 2, the militia leaders claimed to have 150 armed members at the site, while media reports suggested that no more than a dozen armed militants were on the site,^[76] and "between six and 12."^[77] On January 3, The Oregonian said there were roughly 20 to 25 people present and that the militants had deployed into defensive positions.^[72] On January 3, Ammon Bundy claimed that they were being supplied by area residents.^[78]

Other protest groups took varying positions. On January 2, the 3 Percenters of Idaho militia disclaimed involvement, calling the standoff a small splinter action.^[79]

Ryan Bundy stated that the militant group wants the Hammonds to be released and for the federal government to relinquish control of the 1.4 million acres (5,700 km²) Malheur National Forest.^[4] On January 3, Ammon Bundy said the ultimate goal of the militants was to "get the economics here in the county revived" for logging and outdoor recreation.^[78] On January 4, the militants announced a formal name for their group, Citizens for Constitutional Freedom.^[80]

On January 4, Steven E. Grasty, the judge-executive of Harney County, emailed Ammon Bundy requesting that he leave the refuge.^[11] Harney County Sheriff David Ward then requested that the Bundys and others to leave. In response, Ryan Bundy said he wasn't convinced Ward spoke for the county.^[81] Meanwhile, on January 4, Dwight and Steven Hammond voluntarily reported to begin serving the remainder of their respective prison sentences.^[82]

In a public meeting held on January 6 at the Harney County Fairgrounds, nearly every attending person, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, raised their hands on a question asking if the militants should leave. Ward then offered to escort the militants to the county line if they would depart voluntarily.^[83]

A fistfight erupted at the refuge on the evening of January 6 when three members of a group calling themselves Veterans on Patrol attempted to enter the headquarters and convince women and children and Ryan Payne to leave. Instead, they were repelled by militants, leaving one member of the Veterans on Patrol with a black eye.^[84][85] Family members of some of the militants were present at the refuge during the standoff, including a minor son of Ammon Bundy, as well as the children of some of the visitors sympathetic to the militia.^[86][87][88]

On January 7, Sheriff Ward and other local sheriffs met with Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne 20 miles (32 km) from the site of the standoff. Sheriff Ward repeated his earlier offer to escort the militants out of the county. 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.^[89]

Second week

On January 8, members of other militias later met with the militants, asking them to establish a perimeter around the occupied area to avoid a "Waco-style situation."^[92] A number of other militia and anti-government groups, some armed, arrived and were greeted with mixed reception.^[93] The 3 Percenters of Idaho announced it was sending some of its members to "secure a perimeter" around the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge compound and prevent a repeat of the Waco siege. Ammon Bundy initially welcomed the arrival of the additional militants.^[79][94] However, hours after their arrival at the refuge on the morning of January 9, the convoy of new militants from the Pacific Patriots Network, led by Brandon Curtiss, president of the 3 Percenters of Idaho, were asked to leave by Utah attorney Todd MacFarlane, who acted as a mediator.^[95] The new militants left the refuge that afternoon.^[94][96][97]

By January 10, an influx of armed groups and individuals was rotating through Burns, with some declaring they were there to support the standoff, others to try to convince the militants to quit, and still others with undefined purposes.^[90] Some militants, meanwhile, left the standoff completely.^[98]

On January 11, the militants demolished a stretch of fence between the refuge and an adjacent ranch, apparently to give the adjacent ranch access to land that had been blocked for years.^{[99][100][101]} However, the ranch owners did not want the fence taken down and subsequently repaired it.^[102] The militants began searching through government documents stored for proof of government wrongdoing toward local ranchers.^[103][104]

On January 12, the militants told KOIN reporter Chris Holmstrom that the refuge facilities were messy and unorganized when they arrived, and Jason Patrick asserted that they encountered rat fecal matter 2 inches (50.8 mm) deep. KOIN recorded some of their cleaning efforts in a garage.^[105] Bruce Doucette, the owner of a computer repair shop in Denver, Colorado, and a self-proclaimed judge, announced on January 12 that he would convene a "citizens grand jury" to charge government officials with various crimes.^[106][107] Doucette's claims to be a judge are consistent with legal frauds often practiced by the sovereign citizen movement and other anti-government movements.^[108]

On January 14, Ammon Bundy announced that the militants planned a longer stay and were reaching out to nearby county sheriffs for support. Michael Ray Emry, speaking for Bruce Doucette, threaten to hold "a trial with the redress of grievance" against county and other government officials.^[109]

Harney County Judge Steven Grasty, Sheriff Ward, and other county officials were served false legal documents by the militants.^[110] On January 15, the Oregon State Police arrested a militant at the Safeway in Burns who had been driving a government vehicle stolen from the refuge headquarters.^[111][112]

Also on January 15, the Oath Keepers anti-government militia group warned of a prospective "conflagration so great, it cannot be stopped, leading to a bloody, brutal civil war" if the situation declined to violence.^[113]

Third and fourth weeks

Militant numbers continued to grow to "several dozen" according to one report^[114] or about 40 in another.^[30] On January 16, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum told The Washington Post that "[i]t needs to be very clear that these buildings will never, ever return to the federal government," reiterating the group's demands for the federal government to cede ownership of the wildlife refuge.^[114]

The militants began to vandalize the property,^[115] which local community leaders characterized as an attempt to provoke violent confrontation.^[116] A video released by the militants showed them inspecting a locked storage room for archaeological artifacts held in agreement with the Burns Paiute Tribe, an Indian nation in Harney County,^[117] leading the tribe to ask the federal authorities to block the passage of occupiers to the site.^[118][119]

On January 19, Ammon Bundy and several other militant occupiers appeared unannounced at a community meeting in Burns without addressing the crowd. Residents urged an end to the standoff as did rallies held by opponents in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, and in Idaho.^[120] On January 21, Bundy met with the FBI and discussed with them about relinquishing federal government control of the refuge as well as the releases of Dwight and Steven Hammond. He agreed to meet with the FBI again on the next day, but when the meeting occurred, Bundy left when the agent present declined to negotiate in front of the media.^[121][122]

On January 23, the militants hosted a news conference at the refuge, promising news reporters that an Oregon cattle rancher and one from New Mexico would be present to sign papers renouncing their federal grazing permits. Only one rancher, Adrian C. Sewell of Grant County, New Mexico, a convicted felon, renounced his federal grazing permit at the conference. The Oregon rancher was absent.^[122][123]

January 26 arrests and shooting

During the first weeks, law enforcement allowed the militants to come and go from the refuge at will.^[124] On January 26, the main leaders attempted to drive two vehicles to adjacent Grant County, Oregon, where Ryan Payne was invited by a Canyon City, Oregon, logger to speak at a public meeting at the John Day Senior Center in John Day, Oregon.^{[125][126][127]} It was the first time in which the main leaders were traveling together away from the refuge headquarters. State and federal authorities used the opportunity to intercept them with a traffic stop on a stretch of U.S. Route 395, situated away from populated areas.^[124]

The militants' convoy consisted of a white 2015 Dodge Ram pickup truck, driven by Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, followed by a dark-colored Jeep.^[129][130] Vehicles driven by the FBI and the Oregon State Police pulled in behind the Jeep. The driver of the Jeep pulled over and he and his passengers, Ammon Bundy and Brian Cavalier, surrendered peacefully and were taken into custody. Finicum kept driving, followed by the authorities, but eventually stopped with police cars behind his truck. The police launched a round of 40mm foam-nosed pepper spray at the vehicle.^[131] Ryan Payne exited Finicum's truck and surrendered peacefully, also surrendering a handgun holstered on his right hip. Shawna Cox, a passenger in Finicum's truck, recorded cell phone video of Finicum shouting to police that he will ignore their orders and drive away.^[132] Other cell phone video footage shot by Ryan Bundy, another passenger, also showed Finicum taunting officers and suggesting they should shoot and kill him.^[133][134]

About seven minutes after stopping his truck, Finicum drove away at high speed.^[130][135] Cox, Ryan Bundy, and an 18-year-old female passenger were still inside the truck at the time.^[135][136] They were subsequently pursued by officers and eventually encountered a roadblock about 1 mile (1,609 m) later. Attempting to bypass the roadblock, Finicum embedded his truck in a roadside snowbank.^[137] Two OSP officers and four FBI agents were posted at the roadblock, with one of the FBI agents nearly being run over by Finicum's truck.^[129]

Finicum immediately walked away from his truck and briefly held his hands above his head. OSP officers and FBI agents armed with rifles positioned themselves to his left, while an OSP officer equipped with a Taser X2 walked toward him from his right. As the officer with the Taser attempted to move within 15 feet (5 m) to make the most effective use of the Taser, Finicum turned his body to the left, holding his jacket with his left hand and reaching for a pocket with his right hand. He was then shot three times in the back by two OSP officers.^[128][131]

OSP officers fired three shots into Finicum's truck as it approached the roadblock, and fired three shots into Finicum.^[138] While Finicum was leaving his truck, a FBI Hostage Rescue Team member fired two shots,^[139] one of which entered the truck and ricocheted, inflicting a minor shrapnel wound on Ryan Bundy.^[140]

Immediate aftermath

Immediately after the shooting and arrests, officials stated that Finicum was reaching for a handgun in his pocket when he was shot by a state trooper.^[124] The FBI also said that a loaded handgun was found in Finicum's left jacket pocket;^[141] the handgun was later identified as a 9mm Ruger SR9.^[142] Finicum had received the handgun as a gift from his stepson.^[142][143]

Both of the Bundy brothers and three other militants were arrested. They will face "federal felony charges of conspiracy to impede federal officers from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats" (Title 18, United States Code, Section 372).^{[22][23][144][145]} The driver of the Jeep and the 18-year-old female passenger in Finicum's truck were released without charges. Medical assistance was given to Finicum approximately 10 minutes after the shooting.^[146]

Prior to the video of the action being released, some of the militants and supporters had claimed that Finicum was cooperating with the police when he was shot. This included a claim by controversial Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore who was not present at the arrest that "he was just murdered with his hands up."^[147] Cliven Bundy was quoted as saying that Finicum was "sacrificed for a good purpose."^[148] At a news conference, officials had initially declined to comment on the Finicum shooting because the encounter was still under investigation,^[149] but they later released surveillance video of the incident, which officials said shows Finicum reaching for a handgun after feigning surrender.^[150][151] However, Finicum's family continued to dispute the nature of the shooting, claiming that he was shot in the back while his hands were in the air, and denied the FBI's assertion that Finicum was armed at the time of his death.^[152] Finicum's public autopsy was performed on January 28, but officials withheld the autopsy report from the press until March 8.^[139][153] The Finicum family commissioned a private autopsy, but declined to make the results public.^[130]

Three others were arrested in separate actions: Peter Santilli and Joseph O'Shaughnessy were arrested locally, while Jon Ritzheimer was arrested by the FBI in Peoria, Arizona, after turning himself in.^[154]

Fifth and sixth weeks

Following the January 26 arrests, the standoff continued.^[136] In the early morning hours of January 27, militant Jason Patrick said that women and children had left the standoff, adding that five to six people met and then decided to continue the standoff.^[22] Many people reportedly left in a hurry. Hours later, federal and state police forces moved into the region, formed a perimeter around the refuge, and blocked access to it by setting up roadblocks. Only ranchers who owned land near the area were allowed to pass.^[155]

The remaining members debated on what to do next, with some angry about the recent events.^[156] Through his lawyer, Michael Arnold of Eugene, Oregon, Ammon Bundy on January 27 urged those remaining at the refuge to stand down and go home,^[157] statements that were echoed by his wife.^[158] Later, several vehicles were seen leaving the refuge before the police perimeter had been set up.^[159] Later that day, eight people left the refuge and were met by the FBI and the Oregon State Police at the perimeter. Three militants, including Patrick, surrendered and were arrested, while five other individuals were allowed to leave the refuge by authorities without incident.^[160][161] By the morning of January 28, four militants remained: David Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio; husband and wife Sean, 48, and Sandra Lynn Anderson, 47, both of Riggins, Idaho; and Jeff Banta, 46, of Yerington, Nevada.^[162][163]

Fry reported that there is a warrant for the arrest of Sean Anderson;^[164] the Associated Press reported that Anderson was facing misdemeanor charges in Wisconsin for resisting arrest and drug possession.^[165] Fry also added that the others are free to go. However, the four were reluctant to leave unless they were all allowed to go freely and Sean Anderson was not arrested.^[166][167] The FBI reportedly offered a deal where Sean Anderson would be arrested and the others would go free; this was acceptable to Fry and Banta, but not Sandra Anderson, at which point all four made a pact to remain together.^[162]

By January 29, the four said they had ended negotiations with the FBI and were planning to remain at the refuge until their supplies run out.^[162] On January 30, the FBI said negotiations were continuing.^[168] The militants also claimed that the FBI was shutting down their ability to communicate with the outside world, including by locking down their ability to make or receive mobile phone calls.^[169] The FBI later confirmed this action.^[170] The militants were able to maintain contact with Oregon Public Broadcasting from January 31 to February 3, at which point their line of communication was cut.^[171] About a week later, David Fry was able to reestablish online communications.^[172] On February 3, the remaining four militants, along with twelve of the arrested militants, were indicted for conspiracy to impede U.S. officers, though Kirkland and Stetson were not.^[173]

Signs were added at some roadblocks stating that unauthorized protesters or visitors would be subject to arrest if they passed said blocks.^[174]

Surrender of the last four militants involved

At about 4:30 p.m. on February 10, David Fry rode past the police barricades using an all-terrain vehicle before returning to the refuge at a high rate of speed. Federal authorities claimed that caused them to begin to surround the refuge at around 5:45 p.m.^{[175][176][177]}

Michael Arnold, Ammon Bundy's lawyer, learned of the escalation from a live feed where the remaining holdouts were talking of murder and asking to speak to Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore. Fiore was informed of the request as her flight touched down at the Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, Arnold sent text messages to a FBI negotiator saying, "Fiore is landing now. Can you get her on the phone with the people at the refuge? ... We can slow this down by offering Michele Fiore to talk to them."^[178] Fiore stated on a YouTube livestream with the militants that she would try to mediate the situation.^[177] While she talked to the four militants, Arnold worked on getting the FBI on the phone. At 7:38 p.m., a FBI agent told Arnold that Fiore was doing a good job and they should go to Burns.^[178]

Later that night, it was reported that the remaining militants would be turning themselves in to the FBI at 8:00 a.m. on the following morning.^[179] On the morning of February 11, Fiore and Arnold arrived in Burns. Fiore met with Rev. Franklin Graham at the Burns Municipal Airport, who had flown in there on his private airplane, and both were driven to the refuge in a FBI armored truck, with Arnold in a vehicle behind them. Fiore and Graham took turns addressing the militants over a loudspeaker on the truck, and Arnold provided the FBI Ammon Bundy's recorded message for Fry.^[178] By 11:00 a.m., Sean and Sandra Anderson, Jeff Banta, and Fry surrendered to the FBI without incident. The previous night, Cliven Bundy had been arrested by the FBI after deplaning at the Portland International Airport on charges related to events that were alleged to have occurred during the 2014 Bundy standoff.^[33] He had flown to Portland to support Fry, Banta, and the Andersons.^[180] In February 2016, the elder Bundy was transported back from Portland, Oregon, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to be tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on charges related to the standoff at his Bunkerville, Nevada, ranch.^[181]

Aftermath

Further arrests

The final arrest of the 26 militants indicted for felony conspiracy was of Travis Cox, and took place on April 12 in Cedar City, Utah.^[182] A 27th militant, Scott Alan Willingham, was arrested on March 16.^[10] Willingham pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property on May 12.^[183] Michael Ray Emry, who had described himself as being an "embedded reporter" for the 3 Percenters of Idaho,^[184][185] was arrested by the FBI on May 6 in John Day, Oregon, on federal weapons charges relating to his possession of a stolen fully automatic .50-caliber M2 Browning heavy machine gun.^{[184][185][186][187]} Willingham told The Oregonian that Emry spent time at the refuge for media purposes and to share his expertise with weapons, and supplied another militant at the refuge with a semi-automatic AK-47 rifle.^[188]

Trials

A total of 27 people involved in the standoff were charged under federal law; of those, 26 have been indicted for a single federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the U.S. from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats.^[189] A number of those under indictment on the conspiracy charge are also charged with a variety of other counts, some of which incur sentences up to life imprisonment, including possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities, use and carry of firearms in relation to a crime of violence, depredation of government property (relating to damaging the site "by means of excavation and the use of heavy equipment"), and theft of government property.^[190][191] In addition, several of those under indictment in Oregon have also been indicted separately for their roles in the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada.^[192]

The trials for eight militants, including Ammon Bundy, are scheduled to start on September 7, 2016; while a further seven militants were set for trial beginning February 14, 2017.^[193][194] On August 3, about 1,500 potential jurors were summoned and asked to complete questionnaires that would be reviewed by the attorneys and parties involved in the September 7, 2016, trials.^[195] Judge Brown previously said the case would require an unusually large jury pool.^[193] The defense will focus on the argument that the federal government doesn't actually have jurisdiction of federal land, as they lost the right to own the land inside of Oregon once it became a state.^[196] By August 2016, twelve militants pleaded guilty for charges against them, including four of nine militants who were part of Bundy's "inner circle." Of those four, two were reported to be negotiating a resolution to a federal indictment in regards to the Bundy standoff.^[34][197]

FBI investigation of scene and damage to refuge

Examples of damage caused by the militants

Following the surrender of the last militants, the FBI labeled the entire refuge a crime scene and canvassed the buildings in search of explosives and any previously existing hazardous materials.^[198] A collection of firearms and explosives were found inside the refuge.^[199] Safes were found to have been broken into, with money, cameras, and computers stolen by the militants. They were also found to have badly damaged tribal artifacts.^[200] The FBI's Art Crime Team conducted an archaeological field assessment to determine if the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act or the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 were violated; additional charges may result if so.^[201]

During the standoff, the militants illegally dug a new road using a government-owned excavator, expanded a parking lot, dug trenches, destroyed part of a USFWS-owned fence, and removed security cameras.^[116][202] Some of the refuge's pipes broke, after which the militants, officials said, defecated "everywhere."^[200] Investigators found "significant amounts of human feces" at "two large trenches and an improvised road on or adjacent to grounds containing sensitive artifacts" of the Burns Paiute Tribe.^[203] A USFWS spokesperson said that the damage risked "the destruction and desecration of culturally significant Native American sites" and called it "disgusting, ghoulish behavior."^[116] The Burns Paiute Tribe condemned the damage;^[204] tribal council member Jarvis Kennedy described it as if "someone went to Arlington National Cemetery and went to the bathroom on the graves and rode a bulldozer over them."^[205] Two of the militants, Sean Larry Anderson and Jake Edward Ryan, were subsequently indicted for "depredation of government property," an offense that carries a potential ten-year jail sentence.^[190][206] A group of 600 volunteers signed up to restore the refuge, after the Oregon Natural Desert Association sought assistance.^[202] The FBI also found evidence that the militants used a boat launch area, about 1.5 miles (2 km) northeast of the refuge, for firearms training. At the boat launch area, investigators recovered about 1,685 spent shell casings.^[207]

The refuge remained closed after the FBI left the site in late February, with the entrance road blocked off from public access by armed officers from the USFWS.^[208] The refuge's manager described it as "one big mess" at the end of February. Although he and fifteen other employees at the refuge were able to return to their jobs at the end of February, they found that while there had not been much structural damage to the buildings, there had been a great deal of disruption to files, heavy equipment, and fittings, in addition to the problems caused by a lengthy break in the maintenance of the refuge's infrastructure.^[209] Efforts to reduce the population of invasive carp in Malheur Lake are thought to have been set back by three years. While the buildings remain closed for repairs, which are expected to take until the summer,^[210] the refuge's lands were reopened to the public in mid-March.^[205]

Costs

According to an initial analysis by The Oregonian, the standoff "cost taxpayers at least $3.3 million to cover the massive police response, a week of shuttered schools and a long list of supplies ranging from food to flashlight batteries."^[211] Most of the cost was for around-the-clock police work: the Oregon State Police spent US$1.2 million on wages, overtime, lodging, and fuel; while an additional US$788,500 was paid for help from other police and government agencies from outside Harney County. Harney County, its schools, and the municipalities of Burns and Hines, Oregon, spent US$521,800. The US$3.3 million figure also includes wages paid to employees who could not work because of the standoff, such as US$425,000 for about 120 BLM employees whose offices were closed. The figure of the costs does not include additional costs, such as lost time in the field, delayed or canceled BLM projects, or added demand for food and services at local nonprofits, such as the Harney County Senior Center.^[211] A subsequent estimate stated the cost as at least US$9 million, including US$2 million spent relocating employees who had been threatened by the militants, US$2.3 million on federal law enforcement, US$1.7 million to replace damaged or stolen property and over US$3 million spent by Oregon government agencies.^[212]

Reopening of refuge headquarters

The USFWS has reopened much of the refuge to the public, and estimates that the refuge headquarters will be reopend in the late summer or early fall of 2016.^[213]

Reactions

Throughout the standoff, statements were issued by anti-government activists and sympathetic residents, who criticized the militants' tactics.^{[214][215][216]} Other statements of condemnation were issued by legal scholars;^[217] and federal, state, local, and tribal governments.^{[218][219][220][221]} In the first days, the takeover sparked a debate in the United States on the meaning of the word "terrorist" and on how the news media and law enforcement treat situations involving people of different ethnicities or religions.^[222]

See also

References

Specific

Bibliography

Further reading

Articles and opinion

Media

External links

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge