Occupiers Arrested, One Dead, in Oregon

[AGBF]

It is believed that eight people were arrested and one man was killed during a traffic stop in rural Oregon. "The New York Times" says, "Ammon Bundy, the leader of an armed seizure of a federal wildlife refuge in rural eastern Oregon, was arrested and one person was killed Tuesday afternoon in a traffic stop in rural Oregon, the F.B.I. and the Oregon State Police said.

Seven other people, including Mr. Bundy’s brother Ryan Bundy, were arrested, the authorities said. Another person was hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries.

The authorities did not identify the man who was killed, but a member of the Nevada State Assembly, Michele Fiore, who has been a supporter of the Bundy family, said in a posting on Twitter that he was LaVoy Finicum. Mr. Finicum had become a de facto spokesman for the occupiers.

The confrontation came after more than three weeks of growing tension and anxiety that put the tiny community of Burns — about a five-hour drive from Portland — into an international debate about homegrown right-wing militias, public lands and constitutional rights. Mr. Bundy, 40, and a group of his followers, adopting the name Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles southeast of Burns, in Harney County, on Jan. 2."

 

[ksinger]

Excellent. It was time something was done. I'm not happy that someone is dead, but those guys were pretty open about their outright willingness and maybe even desire to be martyrs to their cause. I found their projection of their own desire for armed conflict, to be the desire of "the fed", about as transparent as glass.

I know the community was flat fed up with it and Oregon's governor had called for the feds to get off the dime and do something. I suspect the feds may have been playing a bit of a long game, letting the occupiers come and go and thus lulling them into thinking they were never going to actually do anything, and maybe also a bit worried about something that would look bad for them, like another Waco or Ruby Ridge. But again, it was time. Not doing something was not going to help in the long run. Those lands are the responsibility of the federal government, and local law enforcement shouldn't have to deal with it. IMO, they made a mistake in letting Cliven Bundy get away with his little temper tantrum since it directly emboldened these guys to do what they've done. The concept of public lands is long and well established and not up for debate, certainly not the type of "debate" we've seen in Oregon. We really need to start nipping this crap in the bud, or we're going to start normalizing armed takeover of all sorts of federal facilities.

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/33975802-76/oregon-governor-calls-on-feds-to-act-against-armed-group.html.csp

 

[partgypsy]

About time. The person who died had made it pretty clear he was looking for a gunfight, and he got one.

 

[iLander]

About time. The person who died had made it pretty clear he was looking for a gunfight, and he got one.

Exactly. Be careful what you wish for.

Morons.

 

[ksinger]

I had to post this as a followup and a bit of history trivia. Since a very similar mindset to the secessionist of yore, underpins these guys' actions, it seems fitting that they should be taken down by a law originating in that era. Everything old is new again, right?

Law cited against Oregon occupation was created to corral Civil War secessionists
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/charge_against_refuge_occupier.html