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Oregon militia spokesman LaVoy Finnicum killed and leader Ammon Bundy arrested in standoff with police Oregon militia spokesman LaVoy Finnicum killed and leader Ammon Bundy arrested in standoff with police
(about 13 hours later)
One of the armed anti-government protesters occupying a remote federal facility in eastern Oregon has been killed in a shootout with the authorities, while the group’s leader Ammon Bundy and four other men, including his brother, were arrested. The lengthy stand-off between armed anti-government activists and the authorities in rural Oregon has finally descended into violence, with one protester shot dead, several others arrested, and the remote federal buildings where they staged their occupation surrounded by the FBI.
Arizona rancher Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, 55, was killed in the incident, after the FBI and state police stopped the men’s vehicles on a highway around 50 miles north of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, which the group has occupied since early January. Arizona rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, 55, who regularly acted as a spokesman for the militant group, was killed on Tuesday afternoon after he and five other occupiers were pulled over by the FBI and Oregon state police on a highway some 50 miles north of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, which the protesters have occupied since early January.
The authorities did not publicly identify the dead man last night, but Mr Finicum’s family confirmed that he had been killed during the confrontation, which took place at around 4.30pm local time. The group were driving to a community meeting in the town of John Day when their vehicles were flagged down at around 4.30pm. It is thought Mr Finicum and another occupier, 40-year-old Ryan Bundy, refused to surrender. Mr Finicum was shot and killed, while Mr Bundy suffered a minor gunshot wound to his arm. He and the four other surviving activists were arrested.
"My dad was such a good, good man, through and through," 26-year-old Arianna Finicum Brown, one of his 11 children, told The Oregonian. "He would never ever want to hurt somebody, but he does believe in defending freedom and he knew the risks involved." At a press conference, the FBI declined to offer further details of the incident or to identify the dead man, but Mr Finicum’s family confirmed he was the one killed during the confrontation. “My dad was such a good, good man, through and through,” 26-year-old Arianna Finicum Brown, one of his 11 children, told The Oregonian. “He would never ever want to hurt somebody, but he does believe in defending freedom and he knew the risks involved.”
Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy, thought to be the leader of the militant group, was arrested with five others including his brother, 43-year-old Ryan Bundy, who suffered a minor gunshot wound but was treated and later released from hospital into FBI custody. No police were hurt in the incident, and those arrested were charged with conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats. Mr Finicum’s cowboy hat and ear-warmers had become a familiar sight at the occupation. He was one of several US ranchers who had refused to pay fees to graze his cattle on federal land, along with Cliven Bundy, Ryan’s father, whose own stand-off with authorities in Nevada in 2014 became a right-wing cause célèbre. The Bundy Ranch paid tribute to Mr Finicum on its Facebook page, saying: “America was fired upon by our government and one of liberty’s finest patriots is fallen.”
The men, who were on their way to a community meeting in the town of John Day at the time of the arrests, had begun the occupation after two local ranchers were ordered to return to prison to see out their terms for arson. Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven, 46, were convicted of setting fires that spread on to federal land in 2001 and 2006. A judge ruled in October that their original 12-month sentences did not satisfy the federal minimum of five years, and sent them back to prison. The five arrested occupiers, including Ryan Bundy and his brother Ammon, 40, the group’s de facto leader, were charged with conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats. Harney County Sheriff David Ward said police could have waited “a lot longer” to confront the group, but that the occupation “has been tearing our community apart.”
The militants seized the headquarters of the federal wildlife refuge on 2 January, making vague, anti-government demands – including the freeing of the Hammonds – and calling on fellow "patriots" to join their protest. Speaking to reporters while concealed by a tarpaulin early on in the occupation, Mr Finicum said: "There are things more important than your life, and freedom is one of them... I’m prepared to defend freedom." The militants, calling themselves “Citizens for Constitutional Freedom”, began their occupation of the Malheur refuge headquarters on 2 January, after two local ranchers were ordered to return to prison to complete their terms for arson. Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven, 46, were convicted of setting fires that spread onto federal land in 2001 and 2006.
During the three weeks of the occupation, the protesters had been allowed to move back and forth between the refuge and the nearby town of Burns unhindered by police. But yesterday two more of the militia-affiliated protesters, Joseph O Shaugnessy and Peter Santilli, were arrested in Burns, while Jon Ritzheimer, another prominent member of the far-right group, turned himself into police in Arizona, where he had been visiting his family. All three were arrested on the same conspiracy charge as their compatriots. Around 15 men and women seized the unmanned federal buildings, making vague demands, including the release of the Hammonds, and the return of the federally managed refuge lands to local landowners. They carried firearms openly, and called on fellow “patriots” to join their protest. Speaking to reporters early on in the occupation, Mr Finicum said: “There are things more important than your life, and freedom is one of them... I’m prepared to defend freedom.”
The eight people arrested at the scene on Highway 395 were Bundy, 40, his brother Ryan, 43, Brian Cavalier, 44, Shawna Cox, 59, and Ryan Payne, 32. During the occupation, the protesters had moved back and forth between the refuge and the nearby town of Burns unhindered by the authorities, who seemed keen to avoid a violent confrontation. On Tuesday, however, two more of the protesters were arrested in Burns, while Jon Ritzheimer, another prominent occupier, turned himself into police in Arizona. The seven protesters arrested in Oregon were expected to appear in court in Portland on Wednesday, while Mr Ritzheimer will be extradited from Arizona to face the same conspiracy charge.
Dozens of other occupiers reportedly remained at the remote refuge buildings as of late last night. On its website, the militia collective Operation Mutual Defense called on supporters to rally to the location in support of the arrested men. "You have an obligation to proceed to the [Malheur Refuge] immediately," the message said. "If you fail to arrive, you will demonstrate by your own actions that your previous statements to defend life, liberty, and property were false." Up to a dozen militiamen were thought still to be at the refuge, after voting amongst themselves to continue the occupation. The FBI and Oregon state police said that they had “initiated a containment” of the refuge headquarters, establishing checkpoints on the road that leads to the occupied buildings. FBI Agent Greg Bretzing told reporters that the law enforcement response to the occupation had been “deliberate and measured,” adding: “It is the actions and choices of the armed occupiers of the refuge that have lead us to where we are today.”