"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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Detailed report of who's who, who did what, when, why & where: "...involving the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), special interest groups and the cattle ranchers on the Steens Mountain of Oregon."
http://www.thefencepost.com/news/18847695-113/two-members-of-oregons-ham...
I want my subsidy and I want it now!
Never piss off a libertarian: Don't tread on me !
Everytime I read about that asshole judge deciding they didn't serve enough time after their first sentence, the words DOUBLE-JEAPORDY flash in big red letters in my mind.
Their land must be on something important, because that's usually when the feds play dirty. Thinking it was never about the controlled burns.
Zero-Hegemon: "Their land must be on something important...."
Kinda. Look what's under the land. There's your answer. Do a search on some Fed websites and see how many different "goodies" are under there...
:)
It is Geothermal land out there.,,,big time.
If the FEDS pull a WACO on these folks, there will be HELL to pay.
Are you going to type a nasty email, or use your keyboard to hit them?
Not trolling, but for the benefit of your readers, please define "HELL to pay".
Tactically, these guys are really hanging out there. No cover, no concealment, flat as a pancake and getting supplies in will be impossible once the Feds ring fence them in. Winter out there is cold as fuck. Send guns, money, and lawyers in spades.
The BLM Rangers are overpaid wannabe "operators" who get to kiss their kids good night everynight and sleep in their own beds (no deployments)....but the BLM Rangers get some good training, some great gear, and for the most part are mal-adjusted, but bright college boys with ROTC training. They are creaming their shorts over this one. They will send in the BLM "Rangers" backstopped by some real rangers from Fort Stewart and all the Feds you can buy on a TDY assignment to pull another Ruby Ridge.
I also think the Rangers are looking for some payback with an emphasis in "dispraportionate" force. It was a different ballgame back in that Wadi (dry river bed) in Nevada. The BLM rangers made a big mistake and had themselves boxed in that canyon with limited mobility and the Oathkeepers could have provided elevated and enfilading fire all day long.
God Bless these Patriots though, because the law is pretty clear on double jeapordy. I hope Bundy is smarter than I think and they have a larger force behind them to break them out if this starts to look like a re-enactment of Little Big Horn.
I wonder how many of these "militants" are paid contractors working for the CIA to stage a "domestic terror" event and get a race war started. The mind-controlled masses are already calling for the national gaurd to go in there and takie them out. How much do you want to bet they stage a raid, the actors are "killed" and then the black lives matters assholes rejoice in the streets. That should piss enough people off to get the the real shooting started. And this is what they want. And people will fall for it once again because most humans are nothing more than fucking meat robots.
Another day, another false flag. A real militant wound't resort to these kinds of tactics.
no "CIA" operative would set himself up in such a weak tactical position. These guys ARE RANCHERS and clearly have no idea about military tactics. Also, how many actors do you know who would freeze their ass off in the middle of nowhere.
Real Deal.
200% correct. wrong place....wrong time....apparently unplanned but we got to hope for the best.
I hope you are right. It's hard to discern the truth when you know the CIA and other so-called security agencies has been pulling this false flag shit for descdes now. If these are really ranchers standing up to the government, then if anyone from the government or police do anything to hurt them there needs to be hell to pay. And I'm not talking protests.
This is a seriously piss poor effort on the part of the Bundys but I hope no one gets hurt and some good comes out of it. The whole system in this country needs to be rebooted.
Someone getting hurt could change the outcome....maybe....Waco? Didn't change shit.
Crowdfunding? I can't go there to help them but I can donate.
We are going to have some new gun controls....the limp congress we have will do it's usual....nothing. Their plate is full...they could give a shit less.
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2016/01/wolf-messing-predicts-collapse-of-u...
While I think your scenario is not only a possibility but most likely already been played at least once, I don't think this situation is one of those. NOt yet anyways.
A race war over cattle? Hmm...
If by cattle you means the average american, yes. There is nothing more than the government whores would love to see than the police take out a bunch of white guys. These guys, if true patriots and not some false flag set-up, end up getting killed I guarantee you will see the media drag their names through the dirt and hold them up as an example of what happens when you oppose the government. Look at all of the fucktards calling them terrorists and comparing them to ISIS. This is the attitude of most of the american cattle. The difference between these guys and the government whores is that they want to live and let live. The government whores want to control and be controlled.
Try putting a comment in at the LA Times. If it supports these men it will get removed. My comments were fair and without viciousness and were all removed. Other comments I saw supporting the men have also been removed. People who are commenting and calling for State sponsored violence against the men are not removed. All Liberal leaning comments remain.
ZHrs...if you want to support these guys, get out there in the comments of the newstories and support them before the narrative is cast and set that these guys are crazy. This is a Propaganda War.
Excellant post. 200% correct....this is going to morp into a propaganda war and these guys need help.
All wars are propaganda wars.
Do any of you really think they give two $h!TZ about comments. They will construct the narrative and most will not question it. Anyone remember Ruby Ridge, OKC? They killed innocent children and the people giving orders and helping to coverup the truth were promoted to the highest levels of office. Before that was the Franklin Coverup, before that Watergate, before that the Kennedy bros and MLK assasinations.
Also odd that this event comes in time for Obamas 2nd Ammendment attacks.
If you like your slavery you can keep your slavery.
Actually, the timing is great. Every single congressional seat is on the ballot this year. The primaries are just around the corner in most states. It is the end of a holiday weekend. The congress critters probably don't have all their talking points together. They need until about 10 AM tomorrow EST for their staffers to take their fingers out of the wind and tell these guys what they are supposed to strongly believe.
Help your congressman to remember what position he/she naturally holds.
Seriously. You can dig around at this link and find the contact info. No snail mail please.
http://www.house.gov/
How the F#$k can you sentence someone then change your mind about the term? WTF.
Have they gone mad?
Gee...you must have been in a coma since 9/11. Things have changed big time in law enforcement and the judicial system. Pull for these guys no matter how disorganized they are. Fundamentally they are right. This needs to spread across the country. The system needs rebooted and to get back to fundamentals.
It's irrelevant how things got this way and who is responsible. What's important is to get it fixed.
It's not law, it's precedent. Within the millions of incomprehensibly written & cross-referenced Federal Register pages there are now enough "precedents" to give a Federal Judge leeway for damn-near anything they imagine or are ordered to do.
Did you know the Federal Bureaucracy has its own judical system, exclusive of the Federal court system? They call it Administrative Law. The Administrative Law Judges have their own union, too.
http://www.aalj.org/
You can throw jury nullification in there too.
Property rights attorney Karen Budd-Falen from Cheyenne, Wyoming, agrees. “What totally amazes me is what these guys did – they burned 140 acres. If you compare that to the EPA spill in Colorado, it amazes me that nothing will happen to those EPA employees. You have cities down there with no drinking water. The Hammonds didn’t do anything like that,” Budd-Falen said
http://www.thefencepost.com/news/18847695-113/two-members-of-oregons-ham...
These charges just show how the feds intend to abuse the charge of terrorism. Even if everything the government alleges is true, then the worst you can say is they are poachers and arsonists. Terrorsts - obviously there was no terrorist intent. Fuck the prosecutor, the judge, and the brain dead jurors.
Im thinking of going on strike the day the shooting starts. Dont care what side of stupid starts it either.
On a side note. How many rabbel rousers there are on the government payrolls? Most regular folks are busy working?
One of my little hobbies is studying body language....the two guys in the YouTube clip, though nervous...were not lying or reading from a script..ie...not crisis actors....
I am fcking amazed by both the tone of the article and some of the comments on here....
Isn't this potentially the spark that so many of us have waiting for..?
ZeroHedgers - want to do something, get out into the other newssites and passon this newstory link...http://www.thefencepost.com/news/18847695-113/two-members-of-oregons-ham...
These guys aren't crazy or terrorists...they are Ranchers who are getting raped by the BLM and are fighting back. If shooting starts you can bet your ass they are all going to die there.
If those men did die out there, if the government is that stupid, these ranchers may very well consider that a victory. They know they are putting themselves at risk to make a point and they know that their deaths could set something historical off. They also claim to have extensive supplies and this appears to be thought out well in advance.
Not me budy. This is not the way I think it should be done.
Aren't they just doing exactly what Tommy J and the boys intended when the put the 2nd Amdt in?
And nobody has been hurt so far...
If a million people row in behind these guys a non violent historic event might just be possible...
Agent provacatiers will make that impossible.
That, and a severe lack of port-a-potties.
From unjustified police murders, manipulation by congress, disregard of the Constitution by the Supreme Court, The President creating and arming ISIS, the lies being told to the American people and the grand injustice of our court system...it is a shock this has not happened sooner. Here is the truth behind the actions of these men and women. Understand this! Nothing will bring back the glory of the republic. The Lord has sentenced this land to calamity with sudden and sheer destruction. All you can hope for is place your hope in Christ to lead you to a place of refuge when all hell breaks loose. Listen to these prophetic instructions regarding places of refuge and where to go during the season of calamity: http://www.churchfreedom.org/places-of-refuge-where-to-go-during-the-season-of-calamity/ understand this! I do not speak out of turn like so many of those others that would give you false prophecy. I speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit and I have empirical proof of prophetic words being spoken and fulfilled - so that those that were skeptical would read, see and believe. Take a look at the empiricial proof of Gods were being spoken and coming to pass. Heed this warning and follow its instructions. Disregard them at your own peril. Here is the proof: http://www.churchfreedom.org/empirical-proof-of-prophecy-being-delivered-and-fulfilled/
Loony.
Just misguided. Needs to have his chess game analyzed. Making the right moves, but for the wrong reason.
Who is suplying the cookies for this one?
occupy CNN, no more FED, no more bankers, deport dual citizens, go to DC and take over...
Texas issue silver coins
default on all US fraud bonds..
I for one am sick and tiered of getting fucking played.
These guys know how to live off the land - they can hold out and SURVIVE ! It would be easy to bring GLOBAL change if NOBODY turned up for work until our RIGHTS were restored - Greed - Selfishness and DEBT prevent this .We ALL need to be thrown in at the DEEP end !
If this did not fit in with the plan we would never hear about it.
The news isn't covering it much though.
They could censor out every bit of info they wanted to. If they wanted to?
The stories would still show up on Twitter.
The only way the few can oppress the many is through fear and thuggary. Afterall, we surround them, and they know it. The question is: do we?
The only way the few can oppress the many is through fear and thuggary. Afterall, we surround them, and they know it. The question is: do we?