Federal grand jury indicts Ammon Bundy, followers

The funeral for the Arizona rancher killed by law enforcement during the armed occupation of an OR wildlife refuge was expected to draw supporters Friday from around the West to a small Utah town.

A total of 16 people have been indicted on a federal charge, including the four occupiers who remain at the refuge. One of the occupiers, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, 54, was shot and killed by state police after he sped away from a traffic stop related to the arrest, rammed into a snowbank and then emerged from his truck with his hands up but then reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The group has occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for weeks, protesting federal land use in the Western United States.

Meanwhile, the four still at the facility say they will not leave unless they receive a guarantee that they won’t be arrested.

Just four have remained since late last week – David Fry, of Ohio; Jeff Banta, of Nevada; and Sandy and Sean Anderson, a married couple from Idaho.

Ammon Bundy, of Nevada, was involved in a 2014 armed standoff with federal agencies over grazing rights. “Go home, Oregon State Police”.

The occupation began January 2, with Bundy and his followers demanding the federal government turn public lands over to local control. After the funeral, organizers have planned a memorial horse ride to a local middle school for a benefit concert.

“They’ve kind of put the call out nationwide”, Alldredge said. On Oct. 5, it says, two of those charged traveled to Harney County, where the refuge is located, “to warn the Harney County sheriff of “extreme civil unrest” if certain demands were not met”. “This is what you get when government officials ignore the people”, Bundy said in the message, arguing that the occupiers had “exhausted all prudent measures to get government officials to investigate the abuses to the Hammond family”.

Meanwhile, the government has beefed up security at the national wildlife refuge as the standoff has created tensions in the region and shows no sign of ending soon.

“No specific threats or incidents have occurred, but we remain vigilant to ensure employee and visitor safety throughout the region”, Jody Holzworth, regional spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in an email to CBS News.