There is little doubt in my mind that if these people were blacks or native Americans there would already be dead bodies.
"Now Is The Time To Stand Up": Armed Activists, Militiamen Seize Federal Wildlife Refuge Office In Oregon
3
January, 2015
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 car."
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.”
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.
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Jason Wilson
This is as close as I was allowed to get to the armed militia occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge HQ. #burnsoregon
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 interviewposted 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”.
Armed militia, incl. Bundy bros, occupy forest reserve HQ in Oregon, call ‘US patriots’ to arms
#OregonUnderAttack: People slam lack of govt action after Bundy’s militia takeover in Oregon
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