Man behind armed Oregon band says he’s on mission from God

The protesters are complaining about the amount of land controlled by the federal government as well as the sentencing of two local ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond.

“Many people here relate to the concerns that Ammon Bundy has raised about things like federal overreach or the inability of ranchers or loggers to access federal lands in the way they did in the ’70s and ’80s”, she explained.

As you no doubt have heard by now, a bunch of heavily-armed men (and women) have taken over an apparently empty building at a federal wildlife refuge in OR and declared that they’re in charge of the place.

But Cruz identified her jailing as “judicial tyranny” and said Davis was operating “under God’s authority”.

In the current wrangle, protestors have accused the United States government of unfairly punishing ranchers who refuse to sell their land.

Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Amanda Peacher tells our Newscast unit that Burns Paiute tribal leaders denounced the militants and demanded that they leave. While members of those groups were involved in organizing the protest that preceded the occupation of the refuge, they decried occupiers’ tactics in the immediate aftermath and claimed they were unaware of the plans to make a stand at the refuge. Prosecutors said the Hammonds set the fire to cover up poaching in the area. Earlier, Bundy offered few specifics about the group’s plan to get the land turned over to local control.

“We believe these armed extremists have been emboldened by what they saw as a clear victory at the Cliven Bundy ranch and the fact that no one was held accountable for taking up arms against agents of the federal government”, Ms Beirich from the SPLC said.

According to Bundy, the source said authorities were gathering “their equipment and their goons” at a local high school, where classes have been suspended, and “they were planning on coming in and raiding the refuge”. His armed group is pressing federal authorities to turn over government land to local control.

Ammon Bundy said he prayed about the matter and “clearly understood that the Lord was not pleased with what was happening to the Hammonds”. He said he still thinks there were better options, but as time has gone on he understands how they got to that point.

Still, whether to submit to church leaders or follow a personal conviction remains “a deep and central tension within Mormon doctrine and culture”, Bowman said.

The takeover comes amid a dispute that dates back decades in the West. Officials later revoked Bundy’s grazing rights completely.

The activists seized the refuge about 300 miles from Portland on Saturday night as part of a decades-long fight over public lands in the West.

“And the state’s role is to protect the counties from the federal government – and the county’s role is to protect the people from the state so the people can go about freely using their lands and resources and their rights….” Supporters wanted more land for cattle grazing, mining and timber harvesting.

Many locals agree with Ammon Bundy that the second Hammond sentence was too harsh, considering the crime.

“We have exhausted all prudent measures and have been ignored”, Ammon Bundy said. An admirable exception (and one whose low standing proves the rule) was John Kasich, whose strategist John Weaver suggested “a good federal compound for Bundy and his gang: a US penitentiary”. On Tuesday, he justified the loan by saying he is not anti-government but is opposed to federal policies that go against the people’s will. Records show that in 2010 he borrowed $530,000 through the Small Business Administration for his company, Valet Fleet Service LLC.