"Now Is The Time To Stand Up": Armed Activists, Militiamen Seize Federal Wildlife Refuge Office In Oregon
On Saturday, militants seized a remote government outpost following a protest by hundreds of angry citizens.
That could very easily be the opening line for a story about a Mid-East country beset by civil war. Instead, it’s a description of what happened in Oregon yesterday.
It all started back in 2001 when Dwight Hammond and his son Steven set fire to leased government land in what they said was an effort to beat back invasive plant species and - ironically - prevent wildfires. They set more fires in 2006 and were later convicted of arson.
(the elder Hammond)
Both men served time in prison but a judge eventually determined that their sentences were too light and ordered them back to jail.
Some folks were displeased with the ruling and staged a protest that saw some 300 people march through Burns, a city of around 3,000. The procession made a stop by the Hammond residence and proceeded to make an appearance at the local sheriff's office as well.
"As marchers reached the courthouse, they tossed hundreds of pennies at the locked door. Their message: civilians were buying back their government," AP recounts. "A few blocks away, Hammond and his wife, Susan, greeted marchers, who planted flower bouquets in the snow [after which they] sang some songs, Hammond said a few words, and the protesters marched back to their cars."
Enter Ammon Bundy.
Ammon is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy who famously clashed with the government last year after his cattle were kidnapped by the Feds. Around 400 of Cliven's cows were busy grazing on land Bundy said he owned when the Bureau of Land Managment began to round them up and ship them off to a bovine internment camp at Bunkerville.
The government says the cattle were grazing on public rangeland, which is legal as long as the owner pays a fee. Bundy allegedly racked up some $1 million in such fees and so, the government decided to seize the cows, which the Nevada Bureau of Land Management accused of "trespassing."
Evenutally, the cavalry arrived (literally) as cowboys rode in and broke the cows out of jail. No, really.
Fast forward to November and Bundy's son Ammon was busy trying to come up with a way to keep Dwight Hammond and his son from going back to jail. "Ammon Bundy met with Dwight Hammond and his wife in November, seeking a way to keep the elderly rancher from having to surrender for prison," The Oregonian writes, adding that "the Hammonds professed through their attorneys that they had no interest in ignoring the order to report for prison."
But while the Hammonds have apparently come to terms with their fate, Bundy hasn't and in a brazen move, he and an unspecified number of "outside militants" seized control of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge headquarters, which is a short drive from Burns (where the protest took place).
The federal outpost fell to the militants without a fight presumably because it was deserted for the holidays. Here's more from the Oregonian:
"The facility has been the tool to do all the tyranny that has been placed upon the Hammonds," Ammon Bundy said.
"We're planning on staying here for years, absolutely," he added. "This is not a decision we've made at the last minute."
"The best possible outcome is that the ranchers that have been kicked out of the area, then they will come back and reclaim their land, and the wildlife refuge will be shut down forever and the federal government will relinquish such control," he said. "What we're doing is not rebellious. What we're doing is in accordance with the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land."
"After the peaceful rally was completed today, a group of outside militants drove to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they seized and occupied the refuge headquarters. A collective effort from multiple agencies is currently working on a solution. For the time being please stay away from that area. More information will be provided as it becomes available. Please maintain a peaceful and united front and allow us to work through this situation," Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said, in a statement. The elder Bundy weighed in as well, noting that the occuption isn't “exactly what [he] thought should happen." "But I didn’t know what to do,” he added. “You know, if the Hammonds wouldn’t stand, if the sheriff didn’t stand, then, you know, the people had to do something. And I guess this is what they did decide to do. I wasn’t in on that.”
Ammon Bundy explained the rationale for the occupation as follows:
Got that? This wildlife refuge office will become "a base place where patriots from all over the country will live and be housed." Although from the looks of it, space is limited so reserve your spots now:
The Guardian apparently stopped by the refuge for a visit:
The occupation appears to have begun at about 2pm. Two hours later, the Guardian approached the refuge, which lies about 60 miles south of the town of Burns and is only accessible via a lakeside road slick with ice and banked with snow.
There were no law enforcement agents visible in the area around the refuge. A man with a goatee beard and wraparound sunglasses stood guard, armed with an AR-15-style rifle, and refused entry to the federally owned facility.
He declined to give his name or affiliation, citing “operational security”. He did confirm, however, that the men – several of whom were openly carrying assault weapons – would be camping on the site. “This public land belongs to ‘we the people’,” he said. “We’ll be here enjoying the snow and the scenery.”
This is as close as I was allowed to get to the armed militia occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge HQ. #burnsoregon pic.twitter.com/DPztu0VsVU
— Jason Wilson (@jason_a_w) January 3, 2016
The Guardian was allowed to take a few photographs, and then it was strongly advised to leave the scene. Within hours, police had descended on the remote corner of Harney county, blocking roads and urging members of the public to stay away.
Ammon Bundy, whose father became a folk hero among rightwing constitutionalists after his previous confrontation with federal authorities in Nevada, appeared to be a key figure.
He called for other likeminded US citizens to travel to the refuge in solidarity and to support what he said would be a symbolic showdown between impoverished farmers and overzealous federal authorities.
“We’re out here because the people have been abused long enough,” he said in a video interview posted on his Facebook page on Saturday night.
It isn't entirely clear how these "patriots" plan to last "years" in the small building without supplies but that's probably irrelevant because it's difficult to imagine the oppressors in Washington will let this go on for very long. On that note, we'll close with two quotes, one from The Oregonian and one from US Army veteran Ryan Payne who is among the occupiers.
From The Oregonian: "In phone interviews from inside the occupied building Saturday night, Ammon Bundy and his brother, Ryan Bundy, said they are not looking to hurt anyone. But they would not rule out violence if police tried to remove them, they said."
From Payne: "When local and federal authorities arrive whatever else is going to happen will happen”.
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Dear rejected:
Fantasticly accurate post and you got a down vote. That kind of tells you the stupidity that can be found these days. I just hope this spreads across the country.
"I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a third or more of those militia are Feds."
In the interview where the younger guy is in the house in the flannel he stated that numerous militia leaders had told everybody to stand down but he is calling for them to act. This may be an indication that this group is somewhat legit because you know that those other militias are likely to be infiltrated to hell and back.
Having said that, your right though, the Feds are there somewhere in that group for sure. One possibility is that they may have been unable to capture the leadership of the group as of yet. They should be real careful who responds to the call for help since they will definitely be in those ranks and the "leadership" will be held responsible for whatever they do.
The other possibility is that this is all contrived BS. That would rather suck.
You forget Tim McVeigh. If the narrative can be believed, Waco launched a lone wolf. Based on the number of casualties at Waco, Ruby Ridge and Oklahoma City, it would appear the wolf won the first round. Trust me people. NSA types that are watching and militia types that want to join, we don’t want to light this fuse.
>>>I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a third or more of those militia are Feds.
Yep. If the occupiers put out a call for assistance, and accepted all responders, you can bet there are numerous Feds among them. If these guys restrict themselves to accepting aid from those who are personally well known to them, they won't be adding many to their numbers.
As has been said by several posters, something here definitely doesn't smell right.
If these guys have done training with the better militias like I have (it's our duty in Ohio under Article 9 of the sovereign Ohio Constitution), they will know not to try to hold just that one position. They will setup perimeter support groups to move in and provide flanking support in case the SHTF.
The Minutemen did that at Bunker Hill. Worked for them.
A few dozen confused and angry goofballs have broken into the unoccupied Nature Station of a remote wildlife refuge in Oregon and started issuing "news releases" on social media claiming they are "occupying a Federal building". It's an orchestrated media stunt along the same lines as Balloon Boy, not an organic uprising. Maybe the rugged and independent Bundy Jr. is angling for his own reality TV series, or hoping to become a charismatic cult leader like L. Ron Hubbard.
Hold multiple positions? Set up perimeter support groups? Provide flanking support? What the fuck are you talking about?
As far as I know, this is an inaccurate description of the Nevada Bundy/BLM incident. I'm not giving much credance to the rest of it.
my first thought was that this is a staged event with Crowd-4-Hire......then I kinda wanted it to be true and i thought if its true there is probably some baby killin drone operator sitting behind his video game console thinking to himeself why wont they give me orders to blow out the fucking coutry........its a small unimportant building ............go take over Goldman Sach head quarters and I will praise you
http://audubonportland.org/news/audubon-society-of-portland-statement-on-the-occupation-of-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge
I didn't click your link since I was once a member of the Audubon Society, and know what to expect:
they're pink on the outside and fascists in their cute little hearts.
I'm extremely surprised at the mocking tone of this article....isn't what these men have done perfectly analogous to buying gold n silver...ie..acting in the spirit of the constitution in defiance of a tyrannical govts wishes...
I honestly believed ZH would be supportive of this action...
I am...
With the internet controlled by rogue US Agencies, ZH has to be extremely cautious or be shutdown as a domestic terrorist website. What we also say will be construed as anti government whether constitutional or not.
The US Justice Dept is part of the Executive so don't expect any help there. The US Supreme Court has been obviously captured. I refer to the Patriot Act and Obama Care fiasco of wich they declared constitutional. Don't expect any help there either. Congress has been captured probably since the second or third sessions.
The more loyal you are to the constitutional republic the more enemy you are to the deep state. Even previous Representatives like Ron Paul are under government observation.
True....but unless my memory of previous articles on here is very much mistaken...the deep state removed this website from the Xmas card list long ago....
Which is exactly why most of us are here...
"ZH has to be extremely cautious or be shutdown as a domestic terrorist website"
That is a very good point. The language gets rather hot on here sometimes and that's enough to get the Hedge shut down or labeled at some point. You combine hot language (militant) with the term Jew.... and you likely have a death sentence for the Hedge eventually.
More accurate terms like Zionist, dual citizen and NeoConservative would be preferrable in my opinion. Also too much detailed talk about violence isn't all the smart either. I completely understand these feelings but these tactics will also be used by trolls to put a snare around the Hedge. People here should be smart enough to not put the hedge at risk by their comments. It's easier said than done sometimes, I know.
The ZH server is in Switzerland. Check it yourself.
Of course the server is out of the country though, as are a lot of encrypted email accounts.
Protonmail comes to mind. Might as well go full Monty.
Right, surrender your 1st amendment rights before they take it.
Many people are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see when and how the tide will turn in it's worst way. Whatever Obama announces about his new gun control executive orders may set it all in motion. I doubt that the gun buying frenzy during his administration will result in foks easily giving up their means of self defence. Defence of course from the common criminals found in every day life and of those criminals in government as well. This may very well be the straw that broke the camels back of the American people that will say NO MORE!
Found this bit of humorous trivia on Wiki.
"The mission of the BLM is "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations."
And they discovered a secret study saying that the wildlife was much more abundant on Ranch property. Likely in part due to controlled burns -- the thing that they were charged as terrorists for doing. The Feds are copying their terrorist leaders in Washington.
Funny how it's "public" land, but nobody in the public has any rights to use it?
My congressman would find that humorous too.
How Much Land Near You Does the Federal Government Control? Use This Map to Find Out By Natalie Johnson, The Daily Signal f t # e Washington, Dec 8, 2015 | 0 commentsThe federal government is looking to use the budget process to expand its ownership of land across the United States despite already owning three of every 10 acres, Rep. Louie Gohmert warned Monday.
Gohmert, R-Texas, said the government’s “massive” control over land has preserved less than 1 percent of endangered species and instead harmed individuals whose livelihoods depend on land ownership.
Gohmert, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations, made his remarks as part of an event at The Heritage Foundation.
As Congress gears up to decide whether government control should be further expanded, the Natural Resources Committee created an interactive map that illustrates the current scale of federal land ownership and regulation.
View larger map
Called the Federal Footprint Map, it allows users to sift through the 640 million acres that the U.S. government owns today. Layers pinpoint where federal agencies and bureaucracies control the property.
The map includes a description for each area that details the government’s reasoning for ownership and regulation, such as an endangered species inhabiting the land.
Gohmert said the goal of the project is to make the issue visual so that Americans can evaluate, in a tangible way, the extent of the government’s reach.
“Until you actually see a map where you can lay on layer after layer of what the federal government owns and controls, you really can’t grasp just how bad it’s gotten,” Gohmert said.
The Bureau of Land Management, for example, owns 248 million acres, amounting to more than two and a half times the size of California.
Gohmert said the problem is not only that the U.S. has stripped an excessive amount of land from individual Americans, but has struggled to maintain the land it already owns.
“Right now, we are tens of billions of dollars behind on taking care of the federal land we have,” he said:
Gohmert said Americans and the environment would benefit if the government divested itself of some of the land.
“There are those who think the federal government should own all the land … but every time that has ever been tried [it] has failed,” he said. “People take more pride in their property if they have a stake in it.”
LOL..Burns Ore-gone aint no city..It's a family of inbreeds..
look at this shit...
https://twitter.com/hashtag/OregonUnderAttack?src=tren
Thanks Inurrexion, that is beyond depressing.
Sorry honey,
This is the real American idiocy here. These people will be the first to go down in the civil war.
This sight does take "Counter", "Alternative", "Raycist", comments I see....
including porn spam...
https://twitter.com/hashtag/OregonUnderAttack?src=tren
Oh no, not the Malheur Trailhead! Where will all the cruisy guys go now?
Also, that is not a militia. Look at your own Constitution and the idiots who keep editing it: according to them the National Guard is your militia.
Stand tall brothers, BLM are thugs that need to be shown the exit head first.
Is John Wayne enough to stop Pentacon Kill Industries and the Anglozionazi Empire of Carnage? Nah....don't think some white cowboys will stop the slaughter industry, Merca's last profitable "enterprise". Now we're all redskins to the zero 1% scum.
This may well turn out to be the story of the century. This is some potential future History testbook stuff.
The divide between what our elected officials are doing and what the people need is very great. This is because our elected officials are part of a well-versed group that makes money hand over fist with no accountability. They are entrusted to work for our good and to forward a civil, prosperous society. Instead, they become cash generators and power brokers. They will not give up all their social territory willingly. Why should they? They worked so hard for it. They ain't gonna let no liberty spewing pleb take over something they rightfully own.
PS I just love how the press was turned away at the door. No room for liberals in that camp. There are men making calculated decisions inside that perimiter. I just wonder how they screen out potential infiltrators.
There was a similar incident in New Hampshire a few years ago. One of the trusted newfound friends turned out to be LE and that was the end of that situation. That guy even had his own website that communicated to the public about what was going on inside that standoff.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3290003&page=1
Monier said the Marshals have been communicating with the couple in an effort to get them to turn themselves over the federal authorities without having to resort to the use of force.
"We know they have weapons and we do not want to see this escalate," he said.
Last week agents cut off the home's telephone, Internet and power access. Monier said the couple most likely had generators -- possibly solar or wind powered -- but that eventually the Browns would become uncomfortable enough in their isolation that they would be forced to surrender.
"They probably have generators but those will soon need fuel and need people to fix them. We want to continue to encourage them, and make it uncomfortable enough for them that they'll give up."
Brown said he and his wife had enough supplies to wait out the government no matter how long it lasted. He said the couple did not use air conditioning and could chop down trees from firewood.
Last week, Danny Riley a friend of the Browns was arrested near their home by federal agents while walking the couple's dog.
The Marshals claim they were engaged in routine surveillance of the property, but the Browns believe Riley thwarted a potential raid.
========
Riley was a cop/agent who tazed and captured the Browns a few days later.
You are quite the prolific reader. You really dig up some interesting angles on issues.
;-)
If anyone from SW Washington area wants to go please let me know.
Thank you, Ammon Bundy, for doing what you're doing. It may go unappreciated by some of the libtards in the area. But there are plenty of US that are on your side and the side of the Hammonds. And people all across the nation that are being bullied/harrassed by FEDGOV!
If I am not mistaken the Bundy's were not "freeloading" as they paid up all the State and Local taxes and fees required of them by State and Local laws. Their issue was always that they were not contractually obligated to even deal with BLM as it is an unconstitutionally created entity.
It shouldn't matter as far as I'm concerned. FEDGOV has NO Constitutional authority to own that land. Therefore, it is FEDGOV who is illegally squatting on all of this land! It should be given to the states and then sold off into private ownership. But no, you are not mistaken. The Bundy's had paid all of their grazing fees to the state of Nevada and Clark county.
According to the information posted above from my congressman's website, the federal gov owns 640,000,000 acres. Of that, 248,000,000 falls under the BLM. There is an embedded link to a layered map of federal land.
Louie does not like the BLM. Apparently, TPTB don't like Louie. There are two candidates trying to primary him out this time.
lol primadonna's the lot of 'em. They get to use fed land for their own profit, then go crying "freedom" when the bill comes due.
TheFulishBastid : "lol primadonna's the lot of 'em. They get to use fed land for their own profit, then go crying "freedom" when the bill comes due.
Who the fuck said it was "fed land"?
Actually this is about States rights.
1. Can fedgov just magically create an entity (BLM) that is not provided for in the Constitution and just walk in and take over State Land?
2. If you and your family lived on that land for generations prior to the creation of this ficticious entity called BLM and you never signed a contract or agreement with fedgov to give up the use of the State land....Can the fedgov just make some bullshit up and start a Dept and waltz in and take your land?
Worked against the natives. Just sayin.
Fuck You and fuck the phony BLM.
Ahh a Geoege Soros fan I see
The feds do not lawfully have land unless it was purchased from the state. The lands in question have never been purchased from the state.
I wonder what Trump has to say about this. Good opportunity for him to come out and show what he's really about, a Politician or the true outsider he claims to be.
Whether or not he speaks to this (and you can bet the press won't ask him for a comment), Trump's done more for "hope and change" in a matter of a few months than Obama ever has.
Obama also provided hope and change vs Bush/Cheney regime for a few months until the election was over.
Don't you thing Trump would have said something about WTC7 by now if he was really on our side?