Free Republic

BURNS-Ammon Bundy on Tuesday cautioned federal employees not to interfere with local ranchers and miners who defy government regulations as he stepped towards increased militancy on Day 18 of his occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The armed protestors are clearing the way for Harney County residents to again ranch, mine and log on land now controlled by federal managers, Bundy said. The occupation leader addressed 'range cons"-federal range conservationists who work with ranchers on grazing schedules and rotations to minimize the ecological impact of cattle. He also cited their employer, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the...

As hundreds of people gathered Tuesday at Southwest Portland's Holladay Park, a red-tailed hawk soared above and gave a loud screech. The crowd cheered, celebrating the symbolism during a rally supporting the public ownership of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and calling for the prosecution of its armed occupiers. Armed anti-government protestors at the Harney County refuge are, among other demands, demanding that federally owned land be returned to local ranchers and loggers. "We can show the gang that's out there at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge how you really make a public statement in support of something," said Sean...

BURNS--Members of the armed standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife refuge said Monday that they've recruited ranchers to stop paying the federal government for the right to run cattle on public. The occupation organizers are planning a 'signing ceremony' Friday where ranchers will sign documents renouncing their obligation to pay fees tied to the federal grazing lands allotments, said spokesman LaVoy Fincicum. Two ranchers-one from Oregon and one from New Mexico-have agreed to sign the papers and "I hope they bring a couple more in tow" Fincicum said...... Leaders of the occupation, now in its 17th day, plan a public...

OLYMPIA-The Washington State Patrol is investigating threats against Rep. Matt Shea. Kyle Moore, a spokesman for the patrol, confirmed Friday the agency's Spokane District has 'an open and active case' involving threats against the Spokane Valley Republican, but he could not give further details because of procedural rules...... Shea declined to comment to the newspaper. "Rep. Shea received a very threatening voice mail this week. It's being taken very seriously," according to his legislative spokesman, who said he couldn't comment further. On Facebook posts, Shea said he received a death threat Jan. 12 after articles were published in The Spokesman-Review...

Environmental activists got into the "presence" of the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom (CCF) at the wildlife refuge in Oregon yesterday for a confrontation. Several days ago an environmentalist tore down the sign bearing the new name of the refuge, the Harney County Resource Center. The Center for Biological Diversity came to tell the people at the refuge to leave and the people at the refuge had a message for them. When environmentalist Kieran Suckling took to the mic used by the CCF spokesman to address the media to talk about 'tangling with the Bundy's' as quoted by "Oregon Live", he...

......BURNS, Ore.-The armed activists occupying a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon clashed with environmentalists Saturday as the standoff stretched into a 15th day. Meanwhile, authorities said a Cescent man arrested Friday for use of a stolen refuge vehicle also likely faces charges for violating a court order to stay off federal property. Kenneth Medenbach, 62, was taken to the Multnomah County Jail, where was booked Friday night, according to jail records showing him held without bail Saturday on a "facility hold." According to The Associated Press, The Oregonian reports that a shouting match erupted as members of the Center...

Two federal government vehicles from the occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge pulled into the Safeway parking lot in Burns yesterday. The driver of one vehicle went into the store, the driver of the other was arrested by Oregon State Police. Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent, OR was arrested on suspicion of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. A story on Medenbach was published by the "Bend Bulletin" newspaper. The newspaper reports that Medenbach was released last year after he was arrested for camping on Bureau of Land Management land on condition that he not go onto any federal land. Authorities...

Grant County, Oregon Glenn Palmer called the group occupying buildings at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 'patriots'. He was interviewed by the "Blue Mountain Eagle". Palmer has been an outspoken critic of federal government overreach and he's even written to Vice-President Joe Biden about gun control. Members of the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom group at the refuge traveled to Grant County to ask Palmer to come over to Harney County to help them. But Palmer said he wouldn't come there without permission from Sheriff Dave Ward, but Ward told Palmer he was only welcome if he would 'shame and humiliate...

Harney County, Oregon fire marshal Chris Briels has resigned after county officials refused to allow use of the fairgrounds for a town meeting on Friday night. Briels is a leader of the Harney County Committee of Safety and the retired fire chief of Burns, Oregon. "Oregon Live" reported the story quoting Briels as saying "I will not work for a government or a person that I do not believe in or have faith in...I will not work for somebody that I don't trust." Mr. Briels appeared with the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge yesterday and...

LaVoy Finicum, one of the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom members occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, appeared before the media yesterday to say members of the group will travel 30 miles north to the town on Burns on Friday night for a community meeting. The meeting, at a location yet to be determined, will take place at 7pm and give the group from the refuge an opportunity to explain to the community why they are at the refuge and when they will leave. Finicum also led the media on a tour of buildings at the wildlife refuge to show...

It looks like the Malheur Wildlife Refuge is 'under new management'. Yesterday the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom group including Ammon and Ryan Bundy, Ryan Payne, John Ritzheimer and others went to a section of the refuge five miles south of the headquarters area they have been occupying. There they used their hands and an excavator belonging to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to remove 25 to 30 yards of fence. The purpose of the fence removal was to help a local ranching family feed their 600 cattle. When the government put up the fence last year, it cut off...

As the federal land occupation hits day eight, locals visiting the besieged refuge find, "They're cowboys. They're one of us." BURNS-Ore.--"He's coming," a man on horseback shouted, waving a large American flag against the glistening backdrop of the snow-covered Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. "He" was Ammon Bundy, the leader of a group of armed protestors who occupied this federal refuge in southeastern Oregon for a week. Flanked by supporters, including his brother Ryan and spokesman LaVoy Finicum, Bundy made his way up the hill Friday to tell a swarm of reporters that he and his fellow occupiers were not planning...

There was a visit by state legislators (state representatives) from several states to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Saturday night where they met with the group occupying the buildings there (Citizens for Constitutional Freedom) . Oregon Republican State Representative Dallas Heard of Roseburg was joined by Washington state legislators Graham Hunt and Matt Shea, Idaho state legislators Judy Boyle, Heather Scott and Sage Dixon. Joining in by phone for the meeting was Nevada state legislator Michelle Fiore. Mr. Heard said the group was on a fact finding mission and concerned about an armed assault on the protestors, but their visit...

BURNS--Ammon Bundy and his band of militants appeared ready to settle in for the long haul Saturday when a rifle-toting "security detail" broke the relative lull that had fallen over their weeklong standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The morning began with a notable change in scenery. The ornate sign that used to greet visitors with "Welcome To Your National Wildlife Refuge" now advertised the "Harney County Resource Center" in white block letters over a blue background...... Members of the Pacific Patriots Network, a consortium of groups from Oregon, Washington and Idaho, emerged from their cars and trucks carrying...

Ammon Bundy said Friday that he was not yet ready to accept Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward's offer of safe passage out of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Bundy said he and those with him at the refuge would 'leave as free men' at a later time. Bundy wanted to continue talking to Sheriff Ward on Friday, but Ward refused to communicate because Bundy and the group of people with him weren't ready to leave. The Harney County Committee of Safety formed last week to address the case of the Hammond's and other land owners wronged by the federal government...

Ammon Bundy had a face to face meeting with Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward yesterday at a remote location away from the buildings Bundy and other militia members are occupying at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Residents of the county had asked the sheriff to go have a talk with the militia. The sheriff asked the militia to leave and offered safe escort out but Ammon Bundy and his companion Ryan Payne wanted to talk with the sheriff about what brought them to the area, the federal government's takeover of Harney County's lands. They said the sheriff was failing to...

The tensions are rising in Oregon with a "Chicago Tribune" headline saying "Oregon Militia Prepares for Possible Raid as FBI seeks 'peaceful' end" and yes indeed the feds and the FBI are in charge of the situation. That confirmation comes from Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward who tells reporter Les Zaitz from the "Portland Oregonian/Oregon Live" that very fact. The published report put up last night says this: "BURNS-Steps are in motion to resolve militants' occupation of a federal compound outside of town, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said Tuesday. 'There are things being done,' Ward said. "It's not visible...

From Oregon in the last 24 hours, a journalist working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, John Sepulvado, tweeted that Ryan Bundy had said he and the militia would leave the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge if the people in the area wanted them to. Bundy spoke of holding a town cmeeting. The Sepulvado tweet: "Ryan #Bundy has told @OPB that if the People of #Burns ask them to leave, they will leave peacefully. They plan to have a community meeting." Meanwhile, "Oregon Live" from the Portland Oregonian has a report of its own published last night including details about how law enforcement...

Ammon Bundy emerged from a small brick building at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge shortly after 11am. He wouldn't say how many protestors were present at the site of the occupied federal complex, but fewer than 20 people were visible Sunday afternoon. The leader of the occupation spoke in cool, calm tones as he explained why and other self-described militiamen broke into and took over the complex Saturday...... Protestor LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher, said they're being careful not to damage the buildings or property. He claimed the protestors accessed the buildings after they found a set...

BURNS-Law enforcement agencies are remaining mum about plans to end militiamen's occupation of the Malheur Natiomal Wildlife Refuge headquarters. A splinter group of militia in town to support a local ranching family took over the federal office Saturday afternoon in a development that stunned the community and visiting militia. Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said in a statement late Saturday that " a collective effort from multiple agencies is currently working on a solution."........ Law enforcement response: During Saturday's rally, not a police officer was visible. And so far law enforcement agencies have not approached the refuge or blocked access...