OR protester arrested as tribe calls for group’s removal

“The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is grateful for the quick actions from law enforcement”, said Ms. Nagel.

Police recovered two vehicles belonging to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that had been reported stolen from the refuge, located roughly 30 miles south of Burns.

Court records showed Medenbach was out on bail at the time of his most recent arrest, awaiting trial for a “seven-month residential occupation of government land between May and November 2015”, according to a report from The Guardian.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images The stolen vehicles had signs for the Harney County Resource Center, the name that the occupiers have given to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Earlier this week, the Burns Paiute Tribal Council passed a resolution designating the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as a “Traditional Cultural Property” under the National Historic Preservation Act.

A police vehicle drives through a downtown street in Burns, Oregon, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016.

Afterward, a group led by Ammon Bundy traveled to occupy the refuge to protest the ranchers’ return to prison and demand that the 300-square-mile refuge be turned over to local control.

“I think the mass of the community, especially the rural community, are 100 percent in favor of what we’re trying to accomplish here”, Ryan Bundy said.

Arizona rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum told reporters Friday the group protesting federal land policies was hoping the meeting might occur Monday, if they can find a place to hold it. They had wanted to conduct the meeting Friday night to explain themselves and perhaps say when they would leave, but Harney County officials won’t let them use the fairgrounds, as they’d hoped. He criticized local officials for “making sure we have no access to facilities to talk to the residents”.

The shouting match happened just after occupiers arrived for the briefing carrying security cameras they said they had removed at the request of residents, the newspaper reported.

Tribe Chairwoman Charlotte Rodrique says she feels helpless knowing that her ancestors’ possessions and remains are now in the hands of the armed group angry about federal land policy. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.