Federal Bureau of Investigation releases video details of OR occupier’s death

The occupation by ranchers and others began on January 2 to demand the release of two fellow ranchers and to petition the government to relinquish federal lands for state or public use.

The FBI has published video showing the traffic stop that led to the arrest of militia leader Ammon Bundy and the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum.

– Bundy and his followers were in two vehicles, heading to a community meeting Tuesday in the town of John Day, when they were confronted by federal agents.

In a Friday court filing, prosecutors said Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan, and other occupiers “have always been associated with armed conflicts with the federal government and have repeatedly rejected the authority of the federal government, making them unsuitable for court-ordered supervision”, according to The Oregonian.

Greg Bretzing, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in OR, said the video was released to settle questions surrounding Finicum’s death.

The last holdouts in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge standoff say they now want pardons for everyone involved before they’ll leave the headquarters where they’re holed up behind police roadblocks. Warning: the video contains graphic content.

He was identified by activists as Robert LaVoy Finicum, a rancher who acted as a spokesman for the occupiers. Again Finicum sped away, up a narrow forest road towards a barricade of law enforcement vehicles, then swerved into a snowbank where the truck almost collided with an officer.

Bretzing said that when Finicum’s truck was first stopped, an occupier riding with him — Ryan Payne — got out and surrendered.

The FBI says it believes four more people are still occupying the wildlife refuge.

One of the people still at the refuge is David Fry from OH, who has occasionally posted videos to YouTube.

Ammon Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a tense 2014 stand-off with the government over grazing rights.

Most other occupiers left the refuge after Bundys’ arrests. Still, federal agents leading the effort to end the standoff have said they are working “round-the-clock” to remove the holdouts from the compound. The FBI said Thursday that since those barriers were set up, nine individuals left the refuge. “We realize that viewing that piece of the video will be upsetting to some people, but we feel that it is necessary to show the whole thing unedited in the interest of transparency”, Bretzing said. The Arizona rancher immediately falls to the ground, but the video also shows him still moving, waving his arm.

The aerial video was shown at a news conference Thursday evening.

Authorities said all those arrested will be charged with conspiracy “to impede officers of the United States from their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats”.

The group took up position on the ranch in opposition to prison sentences handed down to two local ranchers convicted of setting fires.