Ammon Bundy Releases Recording Telling Authorities to End Oregon Standoff

The father of one of the last four occupiers of a wildlife refuge in eastern OR says he is disappointed his son has been named in a grand jury indictment against 16 defendants.

All the defendants face a federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats. They say the only use of force during the standoff was by police.

Protesters stand in front of the Harney County Courthouse in Burns, … 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.

Prosecutors, through their filings, claim on October 5, 2015, two of the “conspirators” traveled to Harney County to “warn the Harney County sheriff of “extreme civil unrest” if certain demands were not met. The armed occupation at the refuge started January 2, 2016, records show”. He has called repeatedly for the remaining holdouts at the refuge to go home.

After his arrest – and Finicum’s death – occupation leader Ammon Bundy pleaded with the remaining protesters to abandon the refuge, go home and hug their families.

Three more members of an armed group who took over a federal wildlife refuge in OR are in custody.

In addition to Bundy, his brother, Ryan, and others taken into custody last week in OR and Arizona, the indictment also charges the four people still at the refuge.

The four holdouts at the federal facility have reportedly negotiated with FBI agents and said they will not leave without a guarantee that they will not be arrested.

The remaining occupiers are: David Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nev.; and Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, a married couple from Riggins, Idaho.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined comment Thursday, but the lack of movement in recent days indicates that negotiators were not offering amnesty.

Preserves and other national sites run by the Fish and Wildlife Service are being extra vigilant, said Gavin Shire, the agency’s chief of public affairs.

Brian Cavalier, Duane Leo Ehmer and Peter Santilli are expected in court Thursday afternoon.