On Jan. 6, 2016, Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, arrives for a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon. Credit: © Rick Bowmer, AP Photo

January 27, 2016

Last evening, January 26, a clash between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and members of a group protesting the U.S. federal government led to the arrest of several protesters and one death. 

A heavily armed militia began occupying buildings on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon on Jan. 2, 2016. The militia protest was twofold. The men were protesting a case in Burns, Oregon, in which ranchers—father and son Dwight and Steven Hammond—were ordered back to jail to serve a longer term for a conviction of arson on federal lands. The judge in the case determined that because there were minimum-sentence statutes for the crimes in question, the judge at the original sentencing had incorrectly reduced the time to be served by the Hammonds.

The second reason for the Oregon protest is a bigger issue, however. For years, many ranchers in the western United States have been opposed to lands being controlled by the federal government. These ranchers feel such lands should be under local control. Ranchers in this movement will often, for example, refuse to pay grazing fees owed to the federal government for feeding their cattle on public lands.

The leader of the 2016 Oregon occupation is Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. In 2014, a dispute between Cliven and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) came to a head. For 20 years, Cliven had refused to pay fees for his cattle to graze on federal lands. The BLM stated in 2014 that they would seize cattle owned by Cliven in lieu of $1 million he owed in unpaid fees. On the day the cattle were to be seized, however, armed protesters showed up at the ranch, refusing to let the BLM take action. The land management agents feared that the volatile situation could erupt into another violent confrontation. Federal agents were widely condemned in incidents that occurred at Ruby Ridge, Idaho (1992), and Waco, Texas (1993)—siege situations between civilians and the FBI that  led to heavy loss of  life. The BLM backed off, choosing to pursue the matter in court.

At the start of 2016, a band of armed militia, numbering perhaps 25 people, illegally took possession of the Malheur refuge in a remote area of eastern Oregon. The leadership of the militia included Ammon Bundy and his brother, Ryan. The FBI took little action against the group: there was no siege and people at the site were free to come and go. After weeks of this standoff, the FBI moved to arrest leaders of the group as they traveled to a community meeting near the refuge. According to some reports, at least one in the group resisted arrest—militia spokesman LaVoy Finicum, who was killed in a shootout with the FBI. Those arrested in the incident, in addition to the Bundys, were Shawna Cox, Ryan Waylen Payne, and Brian Cavalier. Other militia leaders, Peter Santilli, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, and Jon Ritzheimer, were arrested later. 

News sources estimated that some 12 militia members remain in the wildlife refuge.

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• Public lands