"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”.
(51 votes)
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Hey remember that car I sold you 2 months ago?
Well, I've just decided that you didn't pay me enough.
Send me a check for X, or else.
If I could upvote it 1,000 times, I sure would. Thanks for the best thought out comment. Now, to get the militia guys to argue exactly that point to someone paying attention.
I think it is very thoughtful of them to wait until after the holidays.
Bundy family was one of the first of a dozen to original families to establish homes in America. These people require vetting because the real possibility is this is a false flag, a staged event to set the tone of what happens. We will know if there is a Bloody Massacre and all the coffins are closed. What would we do for a couple million dollars during a financial collapse? Probaby just about anything.
Very "Christian" of them.......can't interfere with a government employee's time off......it's back to work tomorrow.....
BREAKING: FBI en route to Oregon Federal Building occupation with scores of fully armed agents Federal Agents arrive in Oregon en masse, prepare to gain tactical advantage over militia with swift, hot, response effortBurns, Ore. (INTELLIHUB) — Heavily armed and well-equipped federal agents have arrived in Oregon from various parts of the U.S. to gain tactical advantage over the armed patriot group who commandeered a federal building Saturday, by responding swiftly and with force if necessary.
Additionally, political figures have been placed under an unofficial public gag order and were instructed to not talk about the situation. So far major mainstream coverage of the event has been limited.
Intellihub staff anticipates FBI agents, along with embedded members of the press, to arrive on scene sometime during the wee hours of Monday morning.Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward issued a statement on Saturday which said:
https://www.intellihub.com/breaking-fbi-en-route-oregon-federal-building...
"..alternative motives to attempt to over throw the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States."
Poor babies. If "government" doesn't have its way with us, it throws a murderous tantrum. Of the people, by the people... oh what a bunch of horseshit.
Also, what kind of government is it when some unnamed individual can place a gag order on elected officials? I think we all know the answer.
Well equipped Federal Agents ? I sure as hell hope they have spent more time at the range than their "predecessors". FBI agents typically can't hit the ground with their hat, the list of KIA FBI agents prove that, anyone remember Miami ? The bureau sure does...
Don't think that most of the 150 people In the militia are all armchair quarterbacks. Most are prior service military that are better schooled in tactics and weaponsry that the FBI agent "tough guys" that are allegedly en-route. Yea, this could get VERY INTERESTING indeed..
Probably the militia is better skilled, but the FBI will be far better armed, with air cover and drones and poison gas and maybe some of those experimental weapons we always hear about third hand. They're NOT going to give the insurgents a fighting chance unless they simply screw up . . . which is possible, granted. And I don't know which is worse, a quick massacre or a screwup. Either one should be outright embarassing for the government. Either one is embarassing to me as an American.
FBI needs to watch their back door.
Great. Another overarmed SWAT assault by American police forces on American citizens. With TV cameras and news at six. You can tell that the elites are in panic mode, because when I was a child they would have pretty much IGNORED something as petty as this until the occupiers got cold and went home. Well, at least if the occupiers were as white as these are.
So here we are, another Ruby Ridge/Waco in process with shooting to start before dawn tomorrow. Just effin' wonderful.
I can't wait to hear what Mr Girly-Pants Soetero spews out of his second anus that resides under his nose and above his chin.
We can start a drinking game and pound shots of JD for every time he farts out "extremists" and "terrorists" during his live noozcast. But alas, we'd die of alcohol poisoning in under 20 minutes.
BREAKING...Twitter Photo...Lunatics take over Federal Building
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3379319/posts
Truth hurts.
Good thing everyone else is as sane as you. You keep on being sane, you totally sane person you.
The point of course is to get more propaganda photos of government contractor goons pointing machine guns at Americans. People need to see that it is socially acceptable to say no to "government". No means no.
The bureaucracy is out of control, and is a tool for the modern enclosure fight wherein the owners of the US Government believe they own everything. Including the slaves that live on their land, which is all of the US, and soon the rest of the world.
While we are on topic of land Federal or otherwise has anyone heard the Feds are wanting to pass a law allowing them to sell Federal land to
Private Parties or back to the 50 states ? Just wondering . I thought the taxpayers owned the National Parks and governent land . I have paid taxes for 44 years so I am kind of curious . Happy New Year to all .
these jokers are the worse welfare queens in the country...farm subsidies, subsidies on use of government land for grazing, payments to not farm land, subs on meat and milk and eggs etc..
FUCK THEM
There is no way to shrink government except to resist it, apparently. The bureaucracy cannot be voted out, and oligarchs will not relinquish power.
If the "government" brings violence, that is on the government. No human being has been threatened or harmed, just the "government" ego. Is that worth murdering people over? Anyone who thinks it is, is a monster.
any chance this is a govt psyop to feed the "dangerous armed militia.. must ban guns" meme?
Any chance? Sure. There's also a chance that it's not, or that it is, but is being made to look like it's not by people with any one of a million agendas...whatever. I don't care anymore. I for one am weary, tired, exhausted by too many years of too much god-damned INFORMATION about EVERYTHING, stuff I don't care about and never wanted to know, but now my brain has to process all this extra crap on top of its usual daily load of other crap...conspiracy theories on top of it all is too much to bear.
You can only run psyops when people don't know you are a psychopathic asshole. Once everyone catches on, it's like, "Meh...there he goes, being a psychopathic asshole again...You want to catch lunch?"
American public must now realize that US govt puppeteered by cabal banksters & corporates is looting them at every opportunity in evry which way , the cabals are stuffing pockets of these politicians with cash & keep them contended while Americans are losing . Not only that even the American police is looting all cash from anyone holding it on , if you have cash you are a criminal hah ha. (Now they are looting Cows Hah ha rofl)
This is worse than a totalitarian regime.
How long will the tribulations last under immoral authority?