On January 2, 2016, an armed group of

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the sout ...

Harney County, Oregon Harney County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,495, making it the sixth-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Burns. Established in 1889, the county is named in ho ...

, and continued to occupy it until

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

made a final arrest on February 11, 2016. Their leader was

Ammon Bundy Ammon Edward Bundy (born September 1, 1975) is an American anti-government militant and activist. A car fleet manager by profession, Bundy gained widespread attention by leading the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He is t ...

, who participated in the 2014

Bundy standoff The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders direct ...

at his father's Nevada

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

. Other members of the group were loosely affiliated with non-governmental

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

s and the

sovereign citizen movement The sovereign citizen movement (also SovCit movement or SovCits) is a loose grouping of litigants, activists, tax protesters, financial scheme promoters and conspiracy theorists, who claim to be answerable only to their particular interpretati ...

. The organizers were seeking an opportunity to advance their view that the federal government is constitutionally required to turn over most of the federal public land they manage to the individual states, in particular land managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

(BLM),

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

(USFWS),

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

(USFS), and other agencies. In 2015, the militants believed they could do this by protesting the treatment of two area ranchers convicted of federal land arson, who they believed were wrongly convicted. This is despite the fact that the men in question, father and son Dwight and Steven Dwight Hammond, did not want their help. The occupation began when Bundy led an armed party to the refuge headquarters following a peaceful public rally in the nearby city of

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

. By February 11, all of the militants had surrendered or withdrawn from the occupation, with several leaders having been arrested after leaving the site; one of them,

Robert LaVoy Finicum Robert LaVoy Finicum (January 27, 1961 – January 26, 2016) was one of the activists that staged an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016. After it began, the group organized themselves as the Citizens for ...

, was shot and killed during an attempt to arrest him after he reached toward a handgun concealed in his pocketWhat LaVoy Finicum shooting investigation found
''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', March 8, 2016 after he tried to evade a roadblock;

Ryan Bundy Ryan C. Bundy (born 1972) is an American cattle rancher and former Independent candidate in Nevada's 2018 Gubernatorial Election. He is the brother of Ammon Bundy and the son of Cliven Bundy, who was a central figure in the 2014 Bundy standoff i ...

was wounded. More than two dozen of the militants were charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft, and depredation of federal property. By August 2017, a dozen had pleaded guilty, and six of those had been sentenced to 1–2 years' probation, some including house arrest. Seven others, including Ammon and Ryan Bundy, were tried and acquitted of all federal charges. Five more had been found guilty and were sentenced months later. Seven of the militants saw prison time for their roles in the occupation. Jake Ryan and Duane Ehmer each received 366 days in prison, with Ryan additionally getting three years of supervised probation. Darryl Thorn received 18 months of prison time on November 21, 2017. Jason Patrick received 21 months on February 15, 2018. Ryan Payne was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison along with three years of supervision on February 27, 2018. Jon Ritzheimer was sentenced to 366 days in federal prison and another 12 months in a residential re-entry program. Corey Lequieu was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervision. Two others, Joe O'Shaughnessy and Brian Cavalier, were detained for at least a year, but released on time served plus three years of supervision each, plus fines.

Background

Location

Harney County is a rural county in eastern Oregon. The county seat is the city of Burns. Though it is one of the largest

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

by area in the United States, its population is only about 7,700, and cattle outnumber people 14-to-1. About 73 percent of the county's area is federal land, variously managed by the

United States Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

(BLM), the

(USFS), and the

(USFWS). The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, located in Harney County, was established in 1908 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, a conservationist. Located in the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

, and currently encompassing , it is "one of the premiere sites for birds and

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

in the U.S.," according to the Audubon Society of Portland.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, especially birding, injects million into the local economy annually.

Leadership

The leader of the occupation was Ammon Bundy—a native of Bunkerville, Nevada, owner of a car fleet management company in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, Arizona, and a recent resident of Emmett, Idaho. Ammon Bundy was also the leader of a group which he formed shortly before the occupation, which he later named the

Citizens for Constitutional Freedom Citizens for Constitutional Freedom (C4CF), later also known as People for Constitutional Freedom (P4CF), was the name taken on January 4, 2016, by an armed private U.S. militia that occupied the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Malheur Nationa ...

. Ammon's father, Cliven D. Bundy, had previously organized and led a somewhat similar incident roughly two years earlier in March 2014. Both Bundys are members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

and claimed that their armed opposition to the federal government was ordained for them via divine messages ordering them to do so. Also in a leadership position amongst the militants was the group's occasional spokesman

LaVoy Finicum Robert LaVoy Finicum (January 27, 1961 – January 26, 2016) was one of the activists that staged an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016. After it began, the group organized themselves as the Citizens for ...

, another

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

, who owned a ranch at Cane Beds, in the

Arizona Strip The Arizona Strip is the part of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. Despite being larger in area than several U.S. states, the entire region has a population of fewer than 10,000 people. Consisting of northeastern Mohave County and n ...

, near the community of Colorado City, Arizona. He had recently authored a

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

novel. Ammon's brother,

, was also amongst the militants present, and was later arrested for his role in the occupation. On December 1, 2019, an investigation commissioned by the Washington House of Representatives reported then-Washington state legislator, theocrat and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

Matt Shea, had planned and participated in domestic terrorism on at least three occasions.From Ruby Ridge to Matt Shea, eastern Washington struggles to shake far-right extremism
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019. This included his participation, organizing, planning, and promotion of the 2014

in Nevada, the 2015 armed conflict in

Priest River, Idaho Priest River is a city in Bonner County, Idaho. The population was 1,751 at the 2010 census. Shea led a delegation of right-wing legislators from Oregon, Washington and Idaho that met with law enforcement on January 9, 2016, in

Burns, Oregon Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. According to the 2010 census, the population was 2,806. Burns and the nearby city of Hines are home to about 60 percent of the people in the sparsely pop ...

where they were apprised of confidential intended law enforcement strategies for dealing with the refuge occupiers. The state House district's Republican Representative

Cliff Bentz Cliff Stewart Bentz (born January 12, 1952) is an American lawyer, rancher, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he is the ranking member on the House Natura ...

, attended the meeting, despite being warned by Harney County Judge Steven Grasty to decline the invitation. Bentz did, however, warn western Oregon state Representative

Dallas Heard Dallas Heard (born 1985) is an American politician. He currently serves as a Republican member of the Oregon Senate. Heard had previously served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from District 2 from 2015 until 2018. Heard serve ...

, from Roseburg, that it would be "inappropriate," for Heard to attend, though Heard ignored the advice. Shea then disclosed those details to the Bundys, according to the report.

Hammond arson case

In 2012, Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and Steven Dwight Hammond, 46, were both convicted of two counts of arson on federal land, in relation to two fires they set in 2001 and 2006. In a mid-trial settlement agreement, the Hammonds agreed not to 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. United States' Supplemental Sentencing Memorandum (filed September 21, 2015), ''United States v. Hammond'', Case No. 6:10-cr-60066-AA (D. Ore.). 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. In 2015, the sentences were, however,

vacated A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...

by the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

, which then remanded re-sentencing. Brief for the United States in Opposition, ''Hammond v. United States'', Docket No. 13-1512. Petition for

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

denied on March 23, 2015. See
"Hammond v. United States : SCOTUSblog"
an
"Bloomberg Law - Document - United States v. Hammond, 742 F.3d 880 (9th Cir. 2014), Court Opinion"
for related documents. In October 2015, a judge re-sentenced the Hammonds to five years in prison (with credit for

time served In criminal law, time served is an informal term that describes the duration of pretrial detention (remand), the time period between when a defendant is arrested and when they are convicted. Time served does not include time served on bail but ...

), ordering that they return to prison on January 4, 2016. Stephen was scheduled to be released on June 29, 2019 and Dwight on February 13, 2020. They were pardoned by then-President Donald Trump on July 10, 2018. In late 2015, 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 Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. 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 M. 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. Despite several early meetings with Bundy and Payne, the Hammonds eventually rejected their offers of assistance.

Prelude to the occupation

On November 5, 2015, Ammon Bundy called Harney County Sheriff David Ward and arranged a meeting later the same day. At the meeting, Ammon Bundy and Montana militiaman Ryan Payne insisted to Sheriff Ward that Ward must shield Dwight and Steven Hammond against re-imprisonment. Ward recalled that when he explained that he did not have authority to shield the Hammonds from a lawful sentence, Bundy's and Payne's demeanor became threatening. Payne told Ward that if he did not shield the Hammonds from imprisonment, "thousands" of armed militiamen would come to the county to "do Ward's job" for him—and Payne pointedly noted that he might not be able to control what else the militia might do. By late fall, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies noticed 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." By early December 2015, Bundy and Payne had moved to 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 by Bundy and Payne to orchestrate

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

against the Hammond sentences. 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" (during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, committees of safety were shadow governments organized to usurp authority from colonial administrators). From mid-November to late December 2015, local residents began to notice significant numbers of outsiders in the community, often dressed in military-style attire and openly carrying handguns and sometimes rifles. Some of these armed newcomers engaged in what local people considered threatening and harassing behavior, such as approaching shoppers in local stores and aggressively asking their opinions about the Hammond family. Many local people considered these actions to be deliberate intimidation, intended to sway the community into joining the outsider's unspecified plan to "protect" the Hammonds from re-arrest. Contrary to local custom, some residents began carrying guns in public locations. Many lived in fear that some kind of violent event was about to take place. 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 Burns residents 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 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. The event alternated between expressions of sympathy for the Hammonds and suggestions that a peaceful rally could be beneficial. On January 2, a rally of about 300 people gathered in a

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

supermarket parking lot in Burns, organized by the Pacific Patriots Network (PPN), a militia

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

that includes the

3 Percenters The Three Percenters, also styled 3 Percenters, 3%ers and III%ers, are an American and Canadian far-right anti-government militia. The group advocates gun ownership rights and resistance to the U.S. federal government. The group's name de ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. Members of the Pacific Patriots Network had been active in Harney County since November, drawn there by the Hammond arson case. 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 Koin or KOIN may refer to: * KOIN, a TV station in Portland, Oregon * Koin, Guinea Koin, Guinea (Pular: 𞤂𞤫𞤧-𞤯𞤢𞤤𞤭𞥅𞤪𞤫 𞤑𞤮𞤴𞤭𞤲) is a town and sub-prefecture in the Tougué Prefecture in the Labé Regi ...

, the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

- affiliated

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, there was "no visible police presence at any point."

Armed occupation

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. Ammon and Ryan Bundy—along with armed associates—separated from the crowd and proceeded to the refuge headquarters, located south of Burns. The militants settled into the refuge and set up defensive positions. Right before the occupation 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. Law enforcement kept away from the refuge, but various security measures were taken in surrounding areas. By the evening of January 4, no overt police presence was visible in the area between the town and the refuge headquarters. Upon hearing of the occupation at the wildlife refuge, the two ranchers on whose behalf the militants were ostensibly acting disavowed the action. On January 2, the militia leaders claimed to have 150 armed members at the site, though one journalist reported that no more than a dozen armed militants were on the site, and another reported a claim that there were "between six and 12." On January 3, ''

'' said there were roughly 20 to 25 people present and that the militants had deployed into defensive positions. On January 3, Ammon Bundy claimed that they were being supplied by area residents. Other protest groups took varying positions. On January 2, the 3 Percenters of Idaho militia disclaimed involvement, calling the occupation a small splinter action. Ryan Bundy stated that the militant group wanted the Hammonds to be released and for the federal government to relinquish control of the

Malheur National Forest The Malheur National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. It contains more than in the Blue Mountains (Pacific Northwest), Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. The forest consists of Great Basin ...

. On January 3, Ammon Bundy said the ultimate goal of the militants was to "get the economics here in the county revived" for

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

and

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

. On January 4, the militants announced a formal name for their group, Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. Malheur closed

On January 4, Steven E. Grasty, the judge-executive of Harney County, emailed Ammon Bundy requesting that he leave the refuge. 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 all of the people in the county. Meanwhile, on January 4, Dwight and Steven Hammond voluntarily reported to begin serving the remainder of their respective prison sentences. In a public meeting held on January 6 at the Harney County Fairgrounds, nearly every attending person, according to

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...

, raised their hands when Ward asked who thought the militants should leave. Ward then offered to escort the militants to the county line if they would depart voluntarily. 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, children and Ryan Payne to leave. Instead, they were repelled by militants, leaving one member of the Veterans on Patrol with a

black eye A periorbital hematoma, commonly called a black eye or a shiner (associated with boxing or stick sports such as hockey), is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than to the eye. The name refers to the dark-color ...

. Family members of some of the militants were present at the refuge during the occupation, including a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

son of Ammon Bundy, as well as the children of some of the visitors sympathetic to the militia. "A version of this article appears in print on January 13, 2016, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Fervor at an Oregon Wildlife Refuge, Concern Just Outside It." On January 7, Sheriff Ward and other local sheriffs met with Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne from the site of the occupation. Sheriff Ward repeated his earlier offer to escort the militants out of the county. Bundy rejected the offer, saying the occupation would continue until management of federal land in the county had been turned over to local residents.

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." A number of other militia and anti-government groups, some armed, arrived and received a mixed reception. 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, but 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. The new militants left the refuge that afternoon. By January 10, an influx of armed groups and individuals was rotating through Burns, with some declaring they were there to support the occupation, others to try to convince the militants to quit, and still others with undefined purposes. Some militants, meanwhile, left the occupation completely. On January 11, the militants removed 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. but the ranch owners did not want the fence taken down and subsequently repaired it. The militants began searching through government documents stored for proof of government wrongdoing toward local ranchers. 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

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

deep. KOIN recorded some of their cleaning efforts in a garage. Bruce Doucette, the owner of a computer repair shop in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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. Doucette's claims to be a judge are consistent with legal frauds often practiced by the sovereign citizen movement and other anti-government movements. 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. Harney County Judge Steven Grasty, Sheriff Ward, and other county officials were served false legal documents by the militants. On January 15, the

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Terri Davie has served as Superintendent since November 1, 2020. The ...

arrested a militant at the Safeway in Burns who had been driving a government vehicle

stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...

from the refuge headquarters. Also on January 15, the

Oath Keepers Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of Presidential power as prescribed by the US Constitution. ...

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 descended into violence.

Third and fourth weeks

Militant numbers continued to grow to "several dozen" according to one report or about 40 in another. On January 16, LaVoy Finicum told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' that " 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. The militants began to vandalize the property, which local community leaders characterized as an attempt to provoke violent confrontation. A video released by the militants showed them inspecting a locked storage room for

archaeological artifact An artifact, or artefact (see American and British English spelling differences), is a general term for an item made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the ...

s held in agreement with the

Burns Paiute Tribe The Burns Paiute Tribe of the Burns Paiute Indian Colony of Oregon is a federally recognized tribe of Northern Paiute Indians in Harney County, Oregon, United States.Indian nation in Harney County, leading the tribe to ask the federal authorities to block the passage of occupiers to the site. 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 occupation as did rallies held by opponents in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, and in Idaho. On January 21, Bundy met with the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(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. On January 23, the militants hosted a

news conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

at the refuge, promising

news reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s that an Oregon cattle rancher and one from

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

would be present to sign papers renouncing their federal grazing permits. Although the Oregen rancer did not show up, the one from New Mexico did. At the conference, Adrian C. Sewell, of

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

, New Mexico, renounced his federal grazing permit. The Oregonian newspaper noted that "Sewell's all-American credentials are tarnished" by a conviction on eight counts of assuault with a deadly weapon in Oklahoma in 2002.

January 26 arrests and shooting

During the first weeks, law enforcement allowed the militants to come and go from the refuge at will. On January 26, the main leaders attempted to drive two vehicles to adjacent

, 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. 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 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

, situated away from populated areas. The militants' convoy consisted of a white 2015

Dodge Ram The Ram pickup (marketed as the Dodge Ram until 2010) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler Group LLC and FCA US LLC) and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The current fi ...

driven by LaVoy Finicum, followed by a dark-colored

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

. 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 foam-nosed

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...

at the vehicle. 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 A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

video of Finicum shouting to police that he intended to ignore their orders and drive away. Other cell phone video footage shot by Ryan Bundy, another passenger, also showed Finicum taunting officers and daring them to shoot and kill him. About seven minutes after stopping his truck, Finicum resumed driving north at high speed. Cox, Ryan Bundy, and 18-year-old Victoria Sharp, were still in the rear seat of the truck at the time.‘Patriot Princess’ Victoria Sharp still traumatized a year after Oregon standoff shooting
''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'', Rick Montgomery, January 26, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2018. They were subsequently pursued by officers and eventually encountered a

roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: *Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *Robbery *Sobriety checkpoint In peaceful circumstances ...

about later. An Oregon State Police SWAT member, identified in the trial of FBI agent Astarita as "Officer 1," fired three shots with an

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

, into Finicum's truck as it approached the roadblock. Finicum steered off the pavement to the left shoulder to evade the roadblock, embedding his truck in a roadside snowbank. 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. Finicum soon exited and began walking away from his truck, briefly raising and lowering his hands above his head. While Finicum was leaving his truck, a

FBI Hostage Rescue Team The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...

member allegedly fired two shots one of which entered the truck and ricocheted, inflicting the minor

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

wound on Ryan Bundy. OSP officers and FBI agents armed with

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s positioned themselves to his left, while an OSP officer equipped with a non-lethal

Taser X2 A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon (company), Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed d ...

walked downhill from an embankment toward him. As the officer with the Taser attempted to move within 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 twice in the back by an OSP SWA member from the roadblock identified as "Officer 1," and once by "Officer 2," from the pursuit vehicle.

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. The FBI found a loaded 9mm

Ruger SR9 The Ruger SR-Series is a line of semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Company. At thick through the grip, it is touted by Ruger as one of the thinnest double-stack pistols available. The SR-series has been marketed as a backu ...

, a gift from his stepson, in Finicum's left jacket pocket. Both of the Bundy brothers and three other militants were arrested. They faced "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). The driver of the Jeep and Victoria Sharp, a passenger in Finicum's truck, were released without charges. Medical assistance was given to Finicum approximately 10 minutes after the shooting. 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

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...

woman

Michele Fiore Michele Ann Fiore (born July 29, 1970) is an American Republican politician serving as a justice of the peace for Nye County since being appointed to the position by the Nye County Commission in December 2022. She moved to Nye County in November ...

(who was not present at the arrest) that "he was just murdered with his hands up." Cliven Bundy was quoted as saying that Finicum was "sacrificed for a good purpose." At a news conference, officials had initially declined to comment on the Finicum shooting because the encounter was still under investigation, "A version of this article appears in print on January 28, 2016, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Jailed Oregon Protest Leader Urges Followers: 'Please Go Home'." but they later released surveillance video of the incident, which officials said shows Finicum reaching for a handgun after feigning surrender, but 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. Finicum's public

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

was performed on January 28, but officials withheld the autopsy report from the press until March 8. The Finicum family commissioned a private autopsy, but declined to make the results public. Three others were arrested in separate actions: Peter Santilli and Joseph O'Shaughnessy were arrested locally, while

Jon Ritzheimer Jon Eric Ritzheimer (born October 31, 1983) is an American political activist. He is affiliated with the 3 Percenters and formerly associated with the Oath Keepers group, and has used social media to declare his opposition to Islam and the ...

was placed under arrest by the FBI in Peoria, Arizona, after he had voluntarily surrendered.

Fifth and sixth weeks

Following the January 26 arrests, the occupation continued. In the early morning hours of January 27, militant Jason Patrick said that women and children had left the occupation, adding that five to six people met and then decided to continue the occupation. 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. The remaining members debated on what to do next, with some angry about the recent events. 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, statements that were echoed by his wife. Later, several vehicles were seen leaving the refuge before the police perimeter had been set up. 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 people were allowed to leave the refuge by authorities without incident. 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 Yerington is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2010 census. It is the current county seat of Lyon County, with the first county seat having been established at Dayton on November 29, 1861. It is nam ...

, Nevada. Fry reported that there was a warrant for the arrest of Sean Anderson; the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

reported that Anderson was facing

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

charges in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

for resisting arrest and drug possession. Fry also added that the others were free to go, but the four were reluctant to leave unless they were all allowed to go freely and Sean Anderson was not arrested. 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. By January 29, the four said they had ended negotiations with the FBI and were planning to remain at the refuge until their supplies ran out. On January 30, the FBI said negotiations were continuing. The militants also claimed that the FBI was shutting down their ability to communicate with the outside world, including locking down their ability to make or receive cell phone calls. The FBI later confirmed this action. 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. About a week later, David Fry was able to reestablish online communications. 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. Signs were added at some roadblocks stating that unauthorized protesters or visitors would be subject to arrest if they passed said blocks.

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 An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

before returning to the refuge at high speed. Federal authorities claimed that caused them to begin to surround the refuge at around 5:45 p.m. 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 Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

touched down at the

Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city li ...

in Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, Arnold sent text messages to an 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." Fiore stated on a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

livestream with the militants that she would try to mediate the situation. While she talked to the four militants, Arnold worked on getting the FBI on the phone. At 7:38 p.m., an FBI agent told Arnold that Fiore was doing a good job and they should go to Burns. 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. On the morning of February 11, Fiore and Arnold arrived in Burns. Fiore met with

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Franklin Graham William Franklin Graham III (born July 14, 1952) is an American evangelist and missionary. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary. He is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and ...

at the Burns Municipal Airport, who had flown in there on his private airplane, and both were driven to the refuge in an FBI

armored truck An armored vehicle (also known as an armored cash transport car, security van, or armored truck) is an armored van or truck used to transport valuables, such as large quantities of money or other valuables, especially for banks or retail c ...

, 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. 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. He had flown to Portland to support Fry, Banta, and the Andersons. In February 2016, the elder Bundy was transported back from Portland, Oregon, to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Nevada, to be tried in the

United States District Court for the District of Nevada United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...

on charges related to the standoff at his Nevada ranch. In the first trial there, two defendants who were not charged in Oregon were convicted of some counts, with the jury deadlocked on other charges against them and four others. The two who received guilty verdicts were sentenced on July 26 and 27. Retrials of the first six and the trials of the remaining eleven defendants were scheduled for June 26 by Judge

Gloria Navarro Gloria Maria Navarro (born May 2, 1967) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Early life and education Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Navarro earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from t ...

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 Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

, Utah. At sentencing, on August 7, 2017, the 20-year-old Cox, the youngest of all those indicted, described his own behavior as "arrogant" and "ignorant." He had served 51 days in pre-trial custody before making bail. U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown said about him, "I think it's important to note, if my memory is correct, you're the first person who's acknowledged this was a mistake." She sentenced him to two months of house arrest. By August 7, eleven occupiers had pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to impede federal workers.Travis Cox called his refuge occupation 'hasty decision by an arrogant and ignorant young man'
''

Oregon Live ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Th ...

'', Maxine Bernstein, August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017. In the months preceding the sentencing of Cox, Sean, Sandra and Dylan Anderson each received sentences of a year of probation for trespassing. A 27th militant, Scott Alan Willingham, was arrested on March 16. Willingham pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property on May 12. Michael Ray Emry, who had described himself as being an "embedded reporter" for the 3 Percenters of Idaho, 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 An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...

.50-caliber

M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...

. 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 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

rifle.

Trials

A total of 27 people involved in the occupation 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. 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 Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, 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. In addition, several of those under indictment in Oregon have also been indicted separately for their roles in the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada. In January 2016, a court denied bail to Ammon and Ryan Bundy saying that they were "a flight risk and a danger to the community." The court also denied bail to Ryan Payne, Dylan Anderson, and Jason Patrick. In 2017, prosecutors said they would be asking for a 41-month prison sentence for Payne. By August 2016, twelve militants pleaded guilty to 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 in Nevada. The trials for seven militants, including Ammon Bundy, were scheduled to start on September 7, 2016; while a further seven militants were set for trial beginning February 14, 2017. Charges against the remaining indicted militant, Peter Santilli, were dropped (but he still faces charges in Nevada related to the 2014 Bundy standoff). On August 3, 2016, 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. Judge Anna Brown previously said the case would require an unusually large

jury pool Jury selection is the selection of the people who will serve on a jury during a jury trial. The group of potential jurors (the "jury pool", also known as the ''venire'') is first selected from among the community using a reasonably random method. ...

. On October 27, 2016, Ammon Bundy and six other defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy to impede federal officers and possession of firearms in a federal facility by a jury. One defendant was found not guilty of theft of a government-owned truck, and the jury was hung on charges of theft of surveillance cameras by another defendant. The judge released five of the defendants, but returned Ammon and Ryan Bundy to federal custody because they also face trial related to the 2014

in Nevada. At the end of the trial, Marcus Mumford, Ammon Bundy's lawyer, argued with the judge that Bundy should be released immediately on the grounds that the court did not have a

detainer Detainer (from detain, Latin detinere); originally in British law, the act of keeping a person against his will, or the wrongful keeping of a person's goods, or other Real property, real or personal property. A writ of detainer was a form for the be ...

, and the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...

had no document authorizing Bundy's detention. Both of the Bundy brothers had been ordered to be held without bail in January when they were charged. After the judge admonished him for yelling at the bench, six U.S. Marshals surrounded the defense table and then tackled Mumford and tased him when he resisted. A spokesman for the Marshals Service said Mumford was arrested because he "was resisting and preventing Marshals from taking Ammon Bundy out of the courtroom and back into custody." Other lawyers described the Marshals' actions as a sharp break from customary courtroom decorum. On March 13, 2017, federal prosecutors dropped the unusual charges brought against Mumford for his outburst at his client's verdict. In the trial of the second group of defendants held in February 2017, four remaining defendants were being prosecuted for conspiring to impede federal employees from working at the refuge through intimidation, threats, or fear. Greg Bretzing, the recently retired FBI special agent in charge testified that several agency informants had been sent into the refuge occupation to assess the situation. One, Mark McConnell, was Ammon Bundy's driver in the convoy to the city of John Day. Drones, fixed cameras, and aerial reconnaissance were used in the surveillance. Bretzing said no military had been involved. He said his top three goals were a peaceable end to the takeover, a return of the refuge to USFWS control, and holding accountable the occupiers who were involved. He said there were "maybe a couple of hundred" FBI agents in Harney County plus dozens of state and local law enforcement officers during the refuge takeover. Prosecutors indicated that nine informants had been engaged at the refuge occupation, for periods of two hours to 23 days, and that none were involved at the initial occupation. Some had carried weapons. A California blogger, Gary Hunt, said he received a thumb drive and documents that contained the names of the nine informants who had been at the Refuge, and six others in the case who had not been there, and he subsequently posted them online to aid the defense. Judge Brown ordered him to take down such information as to their identities that he had posted, holding him in contempt, and he did so just before her deadline when she said she would levy what she termed "more coercive" sanctions. A neighbor testified that he had heard "hundreds" of shots fired at the refuge's boat launch, and that an occupying tower sentry had aimed a rifle at him and another looked at him through a rifle scope. A video of an occupier meeting found on defendant Jason Patrick's seized camera that was played in the courtroom showed chaos reigned amongst the occupiers after Finicum's death. "We already have our martyr," one said, and another suggested targeting federal officials, saying "execute them, their families, and everyone." Defendant Blaine Cooper proposed leaving the refuge in a USFWS firetruck with others trailing behind it. "If they try to (expletive) with us, lay lead down." Both Cooper's father, Stanley Blaine Hicks, and stepmother, Lindalee Hicks, testified that he was not a truthful person. Refuge employees were set to testify that they had received death threats and feared for their lives, but the judge would not allow it, finding it was prejudicial. In closing arguments, attorneys for Duane Ehmer, Jason Patrick, Darryl Thorn, and Jake Ryan maintained that no conspiracy existed. "It was never there," Michele Kohler, representing Ehmer, told the jury. "The thought was never given to the employees. he occupierswent there on a holiday weekend." The second jury brought split verdicts. All four defendants in it were found guilty of at least one charge, and Darrl Thorn of two. Jason Patrick and Thorn, who were on security details, were found guilty of conspiring to prevent federal workers from doing their refuge jobs. Duane Ehmer and Jake Ryan were found not guilty on that count. Ehmer and Ryan were found guilty of willfully damaging the refuge when they used a refuge excavator to dig two deep trenches on January 27, 2016. Jurors also found Thorn guilty of possessing a firearm in a federal facility, while acquitting Patrick and Ryan of that same charge. While the jury was in deliberations on the felony cases, Judge Brown held a bench trial for the remaining misdemeanor charges on the last four defendants. The defense contended they didn't know nor were they given proper notice that they were trespassing. Ehmer's misdemeanor charges were for tampering with vehicles and equipment, removal of property, and trespassing. Noting that the defendant's guilty plea and low level of involvement in the occupation had mitigated the consequences of his actions, Judge Brown sentenced Geoffrey Stanek on June 26, 2017, to two years' probation and six months' house arrest.Judge To Sentenced Malheur Occupier: 'I Don't Want To See You Again'
''

'', Conrad Wilson, June 26, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017. For similar reasons, on July 6, 2017, Brown sentenced 23-year-old

Tulalip The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. The ...

, Washington, tribal employee Eric Lee Flores, to twenty-four months' probation including five months' house arrest. As with Stanek and Flores, probation had been expected for "low-level defendants" Wesley Kjar and Jason Blomgren. As of August 11, 2017, it had been anticipated that Jason Patrick, Joseph O'Shaughnessy, Duane Ehmer, Darryl Thorn, Jake Ryan, Ryan Payne, Jon Ritzheimer and Blaine Cooper, would be sentenced later in 2017, for their convictions of felonies and misdemeanors involved in the Malheur occupation. Thirteen convicted occupiers have agreed to pay a total of $78,000 in restitution. Ritzheimer and Payne, after pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, and Patrick, convicted at trial of conspiracy plus several misdemeanor offenses, each agreed to pay $10,000. O'Shaughnessy, Cooper, Brian Cavalier and Corey Lequieu, after their guilty pleas to conspiracy, agreed to pay $7,000 each. Thorn, tried and convicted of felonious conspiracy to impede federal workers from doing their jobs at the refuge, plus possession of a firearm in a federal facility and misdemeanors including trespass, agreed to pay $5,000. The most minor of the offenders, Blomgren, Flores, Stanek, Kjar, and Travis Cox all agreed to pay $3,000 each. As of the end of August, the final two defendants, Duane Ehmer and Jake Ryan, still awaited sentencing. They both had dug trenches at the refuge and received guilty verdicts for depredation of government property. On November 16, 2017, Duane Ehmer was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day, with three years of supervised release. On November 21, 2017, Darryl Thorn was sentenced to 18 months in prison. On November 22, 2017, Wesley Kjar was sentenced to two years of probation with 250 hours of community service. On November 30, 2017, Jon Ritzheimer was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison and must spend another 12 months in a residential re-entry program. On January 24, 2018, Jake Ryan was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison for depredation of government property, trespass and tampering with government vehicles and equipment. Ryan was also placed on 3 years' supervised release. On February 15, 2018, Jason Patrick was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. On February 27, 2018, Ryan Payne was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison along with three years of supervision. On March 15, 2018, Joseph O'Shaughnessy was sentenced to time served and two years of supervised release. On June 12, 2018, Blaine Cooper was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution.

FBI investigation of scene and damage to refuge

Following the surrender of the last militants, the FBI labeled the entire refuge a crime scene and canvassed the buildings in search of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s and any previously existing hazardous materials. A collection of firearms and explosives were found inside the refuge. 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. The FBI's Art Crime Team conducted an archaeological field assessment to determine if the

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Pub. L. 101-601, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., 104 Stat. 3048, is a United States federal law enacted on November 16, 1990. The Act requires federal agencies and institutions that ...

or the

Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 ( as amended, , codified at ), also referred to as ARPA, is a federal law of the United States passed in 1979 and amended in 1988. It governs the excavation of archaeological sites on federal and ...

were violated; additional charges may result if so. During the occupation, 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 camera A closed-circuit television camera can produce images or recordings for surveillance or other private purposes. Cameras can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Walter Bruch was the inventor of the CCTV camera. The main purpose o ...

s. Some of the refuge's pipes broke, after which the militants, officials said, defecated "everywhere." Investigators found "significant amounts of

human feces Human feces (or faeces in British English) is the solid or semisolid remains of food that could not be digested or absorbed in the small intestine of humans, but has been further broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. It also contains b ...

" at "two large trenches and an improvised road on or adjacent to grounds containing sensitive artifacts" of the Burns Paiute Tribe. A USFWS spokesperson said that the damage risked "the destruction and desecration of culturally significant Native American sites" and called it "disgusting, ghoulish behavior." The Burns Paiute Tribe condemned the damage; tribal council member Jarvis Kennedy described it as if "someone went to

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

and went to the bathroom on the graves and rode a bulldozer over them." 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. A group of 600 volunteers signed up to restore the refuge, after the

Oregon Natural Desert Association The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to protect, defend, and restore the wild lands of eastern Oregon. It was founded in 1987. Campaigns ONDA's efforts have included protecting habit ...

sought assistance. The FBI also found evidence that the militants used a boat launch area, about northeast of the refuge, for firearms training. At the boat launch area, investigators recovered about 1,685 spent

shell casing A cartridge or a round is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile ( bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance (usually either smokeless powder or black powder) and an ignition device ( primer) within a metall ...

s. 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. 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. Efforts to reduce the population of invasive

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

Malheur Lake Malheur Lake is one of the lakes in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located about southeast of Burns, the lake is marsh fed by the Donner und Blitzen River from the south and the Silvies River ...

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, the refuge's lands were reopened to the public in mid-March. "A version of this article appears in print on March 27, 2016, on page TR11 of the New York edition with the headline: After a 41-Day Standoff, Birding Is Back."

Prosecution of FBI agent

An FBI agent, W. Joseph Astarita, was alleged to have fired two shots at Finicum's pickup, one penetrating the roof and exiting through a window. Shrapnel from the shot lodged in the shoulder of Ryan Bundy. It was believed that FBI agents may have recovered ejected empty cartridges at the scene. A five-count indictment for alleged lying about the circumstances at the scene of Finicum's death, and for alleged obstruction of justice, was obtained in Portland against Astarita by the Department of Justice. He was represented by a public defender and retained counsel. He stated that his personal costs of defense had drained his finances. He entered a not-guilty plea. On July 16, 2018, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones struck one count of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of justice. Astarita's trial began in late July 2018 and the prosecution presented its case. Investigators accounted for six of eight shots taken at Finicum or his truck. Three bullets hit the front of the truck as it sped north at the highway roadblock. Two more shots from that roadblock SWAT member (identified as "Officer 1") in the Astarita trial, struck Finicum in the back as he walked uphill away from his vehicle, toward a third officer who was holding a Taser. Those latter shots were discharged as LaVoy was reaching inside his jacket shouting, "Shoot me, shoot me." Detectives said they found Finicum's loaded automatic pistol with a round chambered, in his jacket. A total of six bullets had been fired by two Oregon State Police (OSP) SWAT officers, the first three at the oncoming vehicle. According to investigators, the fatal volley included one round that hit Finicum's back which was fired by "Officer 2," who had arrived in the chase vehicle. Non-lethal rounds had also been fired at the vehicle, and Ryan Payne was hit in the hand by a rubber bullet. The investigators and prosecutors believed someone else fired two additional shots. One of those two bullets hit the roof of Finicum's truck as he was exiting his vehicle with both hands raised, after he had swerved his truck into a deep snowbank alongside the southbound edge of the roadblock. A second shot missed. Both those interim shots, taken before the fatal volley, were attributed by prosecutors to Astarita, but he had denied firing at all.12 takeaways from Week 2 of FBI agent's trial in LaVoy Finicum shooting
''

'', Maxine Bernstein, August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018. Extensive forensic evidence and analysis was presented in expert testimony. Deschutes County, Oregon sheriff's Detective Ron Brown, who was the lead case agent in the Finicum shooting investigation, said he contacted Ryan Bundy, by email, phone and in person, attempting to convince him to have the "metal fragment or whatever it may be" removed from his shoulder, as a bullet fragment could possibly have been, "... traced back (to) help determine where it came from." However, Bundy either refused to have the fragment extracted, or alternatively, made "completely unreasonable demands," including desiring certain individuals to be criminally charged in the case. The name of one of the officers who fired on Finicum was inadvertently revealed during the trial and circulated via social media by occupier supporters. The public release of that officer's name was objected to by Finicum's widow. On August 10, 2018, a federal jury which had deliberated for six hours, returned not guilty verdicts on all charges against Astarita.

Costs

According to an initial analysis by ''The Oregonian'', the occupation "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." Most of the cost was for around-the-clock police work: the Oregon State Police spent million on wages,

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

, lodging, and fuel; while an additional was paid for help from other police and government agencies from outside Harney County. The municipalities of Burns and Hines, Oregon, along with Harney County, its schools, spent . The million figure also includes wages paid to employees who could not work because of the occupation, such as 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. A subsequent estimate stated the cost as at least million, including million spent relocating employees who had been threatened by the militants, million on federal law enforcement, million to replace damaged or stolen property and over million spent by Oregon government agencies.

Reopening of refuge headquarters

In September 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the headquarters area would remain closed while they installed security upgrades, which they anticipated could take until spring 2017. Roads and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s remained open to the public for birding. By May 8, 2017, the entire Visitor Center, including Center Patrol Road, had been reopened to visitors.

Reactions

Throughout the occupation, statements were issued by anti-government activists and sympathetic residents, who criticized the militants' tactics. "A version of this article appears in print on January 4, 2016, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Armed Protesters Vow to Stay on Oregon Refuge Indefinitely." Other statements of condemnation were issued by legal scholars; and federal, state, local, and tribal governments. 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 The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and th ...

and law enforcement treat situations involving people of different ethnicities or religions. Oregon government officeholders, such as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

and

Congressmen A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Peter DeFazio Peter Anthony DeFazio (; born May 27, 1947) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Roseburg, Coos Bay ...

Earl Blumenauer Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1996. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River. A member of the Democratic P ...

, and other top officials in Oregon who had hoped for a more rapid and rigorous federal response, urged criminal proceedings for the militants and expressed praise that the occupation ended without further bloodshed. Congressman

Greg Walden Gregory Paul Walden (born January 10, 1957) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2021. He is a Republican. Walden is the son of three-term Oregon State Representative Paul E. Walden. In October 2019, ...

, whose district office is in Bend and incorporates the refuge, said, "We can all be grateful that today has ended peacefully, and that this situation is finally over. Now, life in Harney County can begin to return to normal and the community can begin the long process of healing." Walden complained about allegedly poor federal forest and land management policies during the occupation, and said he would like to see changes to those policies: "We need to foster a more cooperative spirit between the federal agencies and the people who call areas like Harney County home." On June 27, 2018, Walden pleaded for a pardon for the Hammonds on the floor of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and in a statement issued July 1, Walden quoted Judge

Michael Robert Hogan Michael Robert Hogan (born September 24, 1946) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. He served as chief judge from 1995 to 2002. He was based at the Wayne L. Morse United States Co ...

's opinion that sentencing the Hammonds even to the minimum mandatory sentence would "shock the conscious" and revealed that then-President Donald Trump was considering a pardon for the arsonists. Harney County held a primary election in May 2016 at which voters turned out in large numbers. All of the winning candidates had opposed the occupation.

Civil lawsuits filed in federal court

At least two civil suits were filed by participants. A

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

case filed by passengers of Finicums truck was dismissed. On January 31, 2018, passengers in Finicum's truck,

, Shawna Cox and Victoria Sharp along with Ryan Payne filed their own civil rights lawsuit in United States district court in

, Oregon against Astarita, Bretzing, and other officials. The plaintiffs allege they were the victims of an "armed ambush, excessive-force seizure, conspiracy, battery and assault and seeks a

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

jury to award damages of up to $1 million per count. On July 19, 2018,

U.S. Magistrate Judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

Patricia Sullivan granted a motion to dismiss Ryan Bundy and Shawna Cox as plaintiffs. On September 6, 2019, Chief United States District Judge Michael W. Mosman dismissed all counts in the lawsuit. As of July 24, 2020, a

wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...

case brought by

's family remains pending. The case was filed on January 26, 2018, in

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

in Pendleton, Oregon. Named as defendants were the United States, the

, the

, Oregon governor

, Greg Bretzing, former FBI special agent in charge in Portland, indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita, U.S. Senator

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United Stat ...

of Oregon, former U.S. Senator

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

of Nevada, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, Harney County commissioner Steven Grasty, the

Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...

and multiple unnamed officers. The lawsuit seeks more than $5 million in damages for Finicum's wife, Jeanette, and each of their 12 children and his estate. Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, called the suit a "bizarre, incoherent, yet nonetheless dangerous, attack on free speech." Disposition of the case and parties was reviewed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan, who on July 24, 2020 made recommendations to the district court regarding each of the defendants. The judge recommended that all defendants be dismissed except the Oregon State Police. The family will have an opportunity to respond to the dismissal recommendations before a district judge makes a final decision on which, if any, of the defendants will remain parties to the lawsuit. On August 5, 2021, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman dismissed most of the civil claims brought in the suit.Judge dismisses most of claims brought by LaVoy Finicum's family in wrongful death suit against state police, FBI
''

'', Maxine Bernstein, August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.

References

Bibliography

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External links