Feds change hands-off approach in Oregon standoff; eight are arrested and another is killed
Nearly a month after militants seized a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, the FBI and police arrested the group’s leader and seven others, while a ninth man who acted as a group spokesman was shot and killed.
Authorities arrested group leader Ammon Bundy and four others on Tuesday as they traveled to a community meeting where Bundy was slated to speak, report the New York Times, the Oregonian and USA Today. Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was killed during the arrest.
Bundy’s brother, Ryan Bundy, was also shot in the confrontation, but the injury was minor and he has already been released from the hospital, according to the Oregonian.
Three others were arrested elsewhere. One of the arrestees was independent broadcaster Pete Santilli, 50, who was live streaming his attempt to re-enter the refuge as he was arrested. Another arrestee, Jon Ritzheimer, had complained on a video that the occupiers’ plea for supplies had been met with a delivery of sex toys. Ritzheimer turned himself in to police in Arizona.
All of the suspects have been charged with a conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through use of force, intimidation or threats.
About 10 militants remain at the refuge, according to an Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter who spoke with NPR’s Morning Edition.
The occupiers contend the federal government wrongfully controls land that should belong to local ranchers.
The arrests were made after state and local officials complained that the federal government was not taking action. The militants were previously allowed to move between the refuge and the city of Burns.
