Armed group occupying refuge clash with environmentalists

The Tribe’s ancestral territory includes the area now managed as the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, as well as other federal lands in southeast Oregon.

A shouting match erupted as members of the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit conservation group, tried to speak, The Oregonian reported.

“This in my opinion is unreasonable search”, said LaVoyce Sinicum, referencing the Fourth Amendment.

Residents have expressed a mixture of sympathy for the Hammond family, suspicion of the federal government’s motives and frustration with the occupation.

Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent, Oregon, was arrested on probable cause for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, the center said in a statement. “To take a truck and drive it in that is not registered and licensed yet to Harney County, which we hope will be soon, is not a good choice, and we will miss him”.

The militia group, led by Nevada cattle ranchers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, had previously called on the public to send them supplies to cope with the winter weather.

Video shows a fracas breaking out when the conservation group tries to speak, with militants yelling insults at them with a bullhorn.

Meanwhile, one of the protesters at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge has been arrested by Oregon State Police for his involvement in a stolen vehicle from the property.