OR standoff over, court appearances begin

The defiant leader of the anti-federal lands movement, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, is now facing multiple felony charges – including conspiracy and assault on a federal officer – in the 2014 standoff at his Nevada ranch. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the OR occupation.

When asked why he became involved in the final stage of the standoff while Bundy sat in a Portland jail, Arnold had a simple reply: “My client wanted this to end peacefully”, he said. Bretzing said the video shows Finicum reaching into his jacket, where authorities later found a gun. The charges against the elder Bundy are the similar to those against his two sons including conspiracy to interfere with a federal officer and weapons charges. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to represent him ahead of a court appearance in federal court in Portland. The last four occupiers of a national wildlife… The four – Sean Anderson, 47, and Sandra Anderson, 48, both of Riggins, Idaho; Jeff Banta, 46, of Yerington, Nevada; and David Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio – were ordered to be held pending a detention hearing, and none of them spoke to the court except to answer yes or no to Acosta’s questions. In the live stream, Fry said the three others had surrendered but he refused to.

The FBI began moving in Wednesday evening, surrounding their encampment with armored vehicles.

“Last night I was on the phone with them for several hours, was able to have prayer with them, and they have said they would come out today”, he wrote.

Brett Tolman, a former US attorney in Utah, said it appears the federal government is trying to send a message: You will face legal consequences if you cross the line from peaceful protest.

“I’m making sure I’m not coming out of here alive”, he said at one point, threatening to kill himself.

Still, in negotiations with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the four holdouts said they would not leave unless there was guarantee that they would not be arrested. A Nevada lawmaker has been key in getting that agreement.

The nearby town of Burns, which has been caught in the crossfire as the wildlife refuge occupiers protested the federal government’s control of expanses of Western land, was quiet late on Thursday as residents sought to resume normal life after the 41-day standoff. Federal agents, OR state troopers and sheriff’s deputies monitored the occupation to avoid a confrontation.

They were the last remnants of armed group that seized the refuge on January 2 to oppose federal land use policies.

“We do have the migratory bird festival in April, and my hunch is that festival is going to be bigger than ever because Malheur being in the news has increased the awareness of an terrible lot of people”, said Harv Schubothe, the president of the Oregon Birding Assn.

A total of 12 people were arrested that week.

Federal workers at the refuge before the standoff had materials on hand to create controlled fires, which would have left the occupiers with the materials to create explosives, the official told Reuters. They may have feared Bundy’s presence would draw sympathizers to defend the last remaining occupiers. During a press conference Thursday, Greg Bretzing, the head of the FBI’s Portland office, referred questions to the district of Nevada.

The governor’s $1 million figure, equal to half of the law enforcement budget of Harney County where the refuge is located, is based on the estimated cost of personnel, transportation and lodging incurred by the state’s 36 counties, which all sent reinforcements to help Harney County deal with the occupation, said Kristen Grainger, a spokeswoman for Brown.