Militias take over Eastern Oregon refuge building during protest, standoff

[thorfourwinds]

Militias take over Eastern Oregon refuge building during protest, standoff

Jan 04, 2016
By Lauren Perry

Burns, Ore.- A protest in support of OR ranchers facing jail time for arson has escalated into an armed takeover of a federal wildlife building and an anti-government call-to-arms.

Dwight Hammond addressed more than 100 protesters who marched through the streets of Burns, Oregon to his house.

The protesters broke into the unoccupied refuge building and are now threatening to stay there "for years".

"The best possible outcome is that the ranchers that have been kicked out of the area, then they will come back and reclaim their land, and the wildlife refuge will be shut down forever and the federal government will relinquish such control", Ryan Bundy said, according to the Oregonian.

His father, Cliven Bundy was also locked in a legal dispute with federal officials in Nevada that developed into an armed confrontation.

Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele told the Associated Press the agency was aware of the situation but had no further comment. The father-son duo were convicted three years ago of arson after prosecutors said they intentionally burned 130 acres of land, and their conviction falls under an expansive anti-terrorism law, the Oregonian reports, which means they have to go back to serve more time.

The case which sparked the initial protest involves Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven, 46, who set fires that spread to government lands they leased to graze cattle.

Cliven Bundy urged the Hammonds to turn themselves in, but said in a statement that "the United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or authority within the State of Oregon, County of Harney over this type of ranch management".

In a statement issued late on Saturday, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said multiple agencies were trying to resolve the issue and he advised caution. He said Ammon told him the group was committed to staying in the building.

The hashtag #OregonUnderAttack is trending with 125,000 tweets since the ranchers first arrived at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday night.

"This is not a decision we've made at the last minute", Bundy added, calling on other militiamen to join them. Dwight served three months in prison and Steven served one year.

Cliven Bundy, the patriarch of a large Mormon family with more than 50 grandchildren, came into the spotlight in April 2014, when the federal government started impounding his 900 head of cattle, following a 20-year battle over cattle-grazing on federal land. "We have no intentions of using force upon anyone, but if force is used against us, we would defend ourselves".

Undeterred, Ammon Bundy said the occupation could last "years". The Hammonds maintain that they lit the fire to eradicate encroaching invasive plants and prevent wildfires. 'I will not disclose, ' he said.

Bundy and his brother Ryan were among of the Hammonds inside the refuge building, according to a report in the Oregonian.

"There was no sign of law enforcement near the entrance to the refuge, though an Oregon State Police patrol auto idled by the side of the road just outside Burns".

[thorfourwinds]

Check out the perspective of the local newspaper:
"The strangers carrying the whisper of danger arrived..."

Ryan Payne, an Army veteran and electrician, practices with his gun outside his Montana home in 2014. He recently moved to Harney County in Oregon to join other militiamen to protest the imprisonment of two prominent ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son Steven. Payne and others want a local sanctuary created to shield the men from surrendering for federal prison, a move the Hammonds don't support. (Cathrine L. Walters, Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive)

Militiamen Gather To Prevent Jailing Of Ranchers

30 December 2015
By Les Zaitz | The Oregonian/OregonLive

BURNS – The strangers carrying the whisper of danger arrived in the vast territory of the Harney Basin just before the holidays.

Ammon Bundy once helped his father repulse the government in an armed showdown on a Nevada desert. He was Tasered for his effort.

Ryan Payne, an electrician from Montana, joined that same standoff and boasted of organizing civilians into sniper squads that drew a bead on federal agents.
And not long ago, Jon Ritzheimer worried the FBI with his threatening rants against Muslims in Arizona and elsewhere, according to press reports.

Now, the men say, they are in Burns to help Dwight and Steven Hammond.

The Hammonds are father and son ranchers, due to report to federal prison on Monday. They were convicted in 2012 of arson for lighting public land on fire adjacent to their ranch land south of Burns. They have been imprisoned once and must return for an additional term after federal appellate judges said they had been illegally sentenced the first time.

Self-styled patriots and militiamen gathering in Burns don't want that to happen, declaring the Hammonds' imprisonment illegal under the U.S. Constitution.

They have latched on to the Hammonds as their latest cause to stand against the federal government.

"I am here now trying to empower and motivate the people of this community to take a stand against tyranny and show them that I will gladly stand with them," Ritzheimer said.

The Hammonds don't want to be part of the outsiders' cause, and neither do many in Harney County.

But that hasn't stopped the strangers from summoning help from militia groups across the country. They are vague about their intention and their plans, unsettling the community and putting law enforcement on edge. The militia plan a rally and a parade on Saturday, circling the county courthouse that houses the sheriff's office.

The militia members have been insisting that Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward create a sanctuary so the Hammonds will be immune from surrendering. Ward met with the militiamen and rejected that demand. The militia has since labeled him an "enemy of the people." Ward said he has received emailed death threats among thousands of messages from across the country regarding the Hammonds.

Two weeks ago, Bundy and Payne roused 60 or so local citizens to their cause at a community meeting. They rented the Memorial Building at the fairgrounds for the night. They taped themselves lecturing the locals on their rights, on the Constitution, and on their duty to protect themselves.

The Harney County situation is the second time this year Oregon has been the national rallying point for militias. Last spring, miners fighting with the Bureau of Land Management over paperwork outside Medford found themselves enveloped with militia defenders. Militia members eventually left – but only after claiming they beat back the government. An administrative law judge temporarily stopped BLM action against the miners.

But the activists carrying pocket editions of the Constitution with them to Harney County are better known for the spectacle in Nevada in spring 2014.
The BLM was the bogeyman there too.

Nevada showdown
Militiamen by the hundreds flowed to Nevada that year to help rancher Cliven Bundy. The BLM was corralling his cattle that it said were trespassing on public land. The agency said Bundy hadn't paid grazing fees for 20 years, amassing more than $1 million in bills.

Payne, an Army veteran, came to the rancher's defense. In later interviews, Payne said he was the "militia adviser" to Bundy. Payne helped array armed civilians against the federal agents.

"We had counter-sniper positions on their sniper positions.  We had at least one guy—sometimes two guys—per BLM agent in there," Payne told a Montana weekly, the Independent.  "If they made one wrong move, every single BLM agent in that camp would've died."

Ammon Bundy, Cliven Bundy's third son, was there too.

As the nation watched, the BLM called off the cattle collection and withdrew in the face of the armed militia. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups across the country, said in a 2014 report on the Bundy standoff that the government's retreat empowered the militiamen.

Ryan Lenz with the law center was on the ground in Nevada and later interviewed Payne for the report. Lenz said the Harney County development isn't surprising.
"What's happening is very much what everyone feared would happen in the aftermath of the Bundy standoff," Lenz said. "The rule of law was suspended with the barrel of a gun."

Aiding the Hammonds
Bundy and Payne say they met with both Dwight and Susan Hammond at their home in November. Bundy said he helped the ranchers move cows one day.

The Hammonds initially accepted the militia's offer of help to avoid prison, Bundy said. But the Hammonds changed their minds after being warned by federal prosecutors to stop communicating with the militia, Bundy wrote in a blog post.

The Hammonds declined interview requests and didn't respond to written questions about their dealings with the militiamen. A Boise lawyer representing the Hammonds said in a letter to the sheriff that Bundy didn't speak for the ranchers and that they intended to surrender as required.

Document: Hammond attorney letter
Bundy and Payne and their associates are persisting, though. They explain in deliberate, calm tones their reasoning.

The federal government claims title to most of the land in Harney County, the ninth largest county in the United States. Bundy and Payne maintain that Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution limits what the federal government can own, and that the government's claim to much of Harney County violates that limit. The federal government consequently has no authority to prosecute the Hammonds.

Bundy and Payne, who said he has moved to Harney County, have pressed the matter on several fronts. They have insisted that Ward, the sheriff, protect the Hammonds. They have written other elected officials in the county and in Oregon asserting the same demand.

Some residents have shown interest in the group's cause.

Locals voted seven of their own onto a new Harney County Committee of Safety, including ranchers, a retired fire chief, and a tax preparer.

Payne and Bundy said the committee would decide how to address the Hammond conflict. But Bundy quickly created a website for the group and drafted a sharply-worded letter to the sheriff for the committee to issue.

Citizens on the committee said they authorized none of it.

Local dissent
Chris Briels, Burns fire chief for 24 years, said he was intrigued by the constitutional arguments raised by Payne and Bundy. But he said he also felt pushed too hard by Bundy to act. Briels said he is no anarchist.

The militia, Briels said, "seems like a bunch of people ready to shoot. I don't want that in my county."

Melodi Molt, a rancher and former president of Oregon CattleWomen, joined Briels on the new committee. She's troubled by what's happened to the Hammonds – but also worried about what her community faces with the outsiders.

"We're not from the militia," said Molt. "We're not going to come in with guns and overthrow the government."

The state's largest agriculture associations have vigorously defended the Hammonds since they were charged but want no part of the brewing militia action.

"I don't think people lining up in front of them with weapons or any kind of threats are going to help the Hammonds at all," said Barry Bushue, Oregon Farm Bureau president.

Billy Williams, Oregon's U.S. attorney, has also weighed in. In a lengthy statement to the Burns Times-Herald, Williams explained why the Hammonds were prosecuted. He then warned: "Any criminal behavior contemplated by those who may object to the court's mandate that harms someone will not be tolerated and will result in serious consequences."

Document: Statement by U.S. Attorney Billy Williams

Payne and Bundy say it's up to local residents what happens next. If the locals decide to declare the county a sanctuary for the Hammonds, the militia is ready.

"We're sending the message: We will protect you," Payne said.

Such talk rattles the community, as has conduct locals blame on the strangers.

Tensions persist.
A Utah man tied to Bundy and Payne disrupted a state court session, insisting the judge empanel a special grand jury to investigate the Hammond matter. Federal employees report they have been followed around town and to their homes. Payne said no one in his group has followed federal employees. But he acknowledged knocking on the front door of a home featuring a handmade "Go Home Bundys" sign. Payne said he wanted to understand the homeowner's concerns.

Signs on street poles pronounce, "Militia go home!"

Others reply: "You are the militia."

One episode in particular has upset the community.

The sheriff said three militiamen and one woman, one with a gun strapped to his hip, engaged his 74-year-old mother and 78-year-old father at a yard sale being held at the American Legion. When the men criticized the sheriff, his mother bristled, and said she didn't need their protection from the government.
 
Later, the men showed up at the sheriff's office to complain about the exchange involving his mother.

She had, they said, threatened them.
-- Les Zaitz
503-221-8181; @leszaitz

[thorfourwinds]

Yikes!
Check out the perspective of Rolling Stone Magazine:

"Dozens of white, armed American militants have gathered in the state to take a stand against government "tyranny.""


Cliven Bundy's son, Ammon — pictured here, in 2014 — appears to be leading the takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. (George Frey/Getty)

, he declares: "We have basically taken over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge."

And this will become a base place for patriots from all over the country to come and be housed here and to live here. And we're planning on staying here for several years." Calling his group "the point of the spear," Ammon Bundy called on like-minded militants to "bring your arms."

Q: What do the militants want?

A: In a phone in interview with The Oregonian, another Bundy son, Ryan, laid out the militants' demands: that the Hammonds be released and that the surrounding federal lands be ceded to local control.

"The best possible outcome is that the ranchers that have been kicked out of the area... will come back and reclaim their land, and the wildlife refuge will be shut down forever and the federal government will relinquish such control," Ryan Bundy said.

He added, "What we're doing is not rebellious. What we're doing is in accordance with the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land."

Q: Has the federal government reacted to this latest Bundy provocation?

A: Not yet.

[thorfourwinds]

FOR THE RECORD:
I am reporting this verbatim from the acknowledged sources because we all know how 'information' changes in these high profile volatile situations.

I feel that there will be an armed confrontation with law enforcement that will lead to Martial Law and the much anticipated civil war in America.

I truly hope I am wrong.


Armed Protesters Take Over Federal Building

By Ashley Fantz, Joe Sutton and Holly Yan, CNN

Updated 0412 GMT (1212 HKT) January 4, 2016 | Video Source: CNN

(CNN) Armed anti-government protesters have taken over a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, accusing officials of unfairly punishing ranchers who refused to sell their land.

One of them is Ammon Bundy, the 40-year-old son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who is well-known for anti-government action.

(TFW NOTE) See the set-up here?

He spoke by phone to CNN on Sunday. Asked several times what he and those with him want, he answered in vague terms, saying that they want the federal government to restore the "people's constitutional rights."

"This refuge -- it has been destructive to the people of the county and to the people of the area," he said.

"People need to be aware that we've become a system where government is actually claiming and using and defending people's rights, and they are doing that against the people."

      The group is occupying part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns after gathering outside for a demonstration supporting Dwight and Steven Hammond, father-and-son ranchers who were convicted of arson.

      Prosecutors said the Hammonds set a fire that burned about 130 acres in 2001 to cover up poaching. They were sentenced to five years in prison.

      The Hammonds, who are set to turn themselves in Monday afternoon, have said they set the fire to reduce the growth of invasive plants and to protect their property from wildfires, CNN affiliate KTVZ reported.

      The Hammonds have been clear in that they don't want help from the Bundy group.

      "Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his group/organization speak for the Hammond family," the Hammonds' attorney W. Alan Schroeder wrote to Harney County Sheriff David Ward.

      CNN law enforcement analyst Art Roderick, a retired U.S. marshal who investigated anti-government militias for years, warned that Bundy's call for supporters to join him might "turn into a bad situation."

      "What's going to happen hopefully (is) ... we don't go out there with a big force, because that's what they're looking for," he said. "The last thing we need is some type of confrontation."

He said that over the years, law enforcement has learned how to handle a situation like this; one that hasn't erupted in violence and in which a law may be broken, but there's no immediate threat to anyone's life.

The best approach now, Roderick said, is to wait the group out and to figure out how to bring a peaceful end to the standoff.

The standoff has prompted Harney County School District 3 to call off classes for the entire week, Superintendent Dr. Marilyn L. McBride said.

"Schools will open on January 11," she said. "Ensuring staff and student safety is our greatest concern."

(TFW NOTE: How convenient that all schools will be closed.)

'We are not terrorists'

After the march Saturday, the armed protesters broke into the refuge's unoccupied building and refused to leave. Officials have said there are no government employees in the building.
"We will be here as long as it takes," Bundy said. "We have no intentions of using force upon anyone, (but) if force is used against us, we would defend ourselves."

Ammon Bundy said that the group in Oregon was armed, but that he would not describe it as a militia. He declined to say how many people were with him, telling CNN on Sunday that giving that information might jeopardize "operational security."

The elder Bundy drew national attention last year after staging a standoff with federal authorities over a Bureau of Land Management dispute.

"We are not terrorists," Ammon Bundy said. "We are concerned citizens and realize we have to act if we want to pass along anything to our children."

He wouldn't call his group a militia, but others are.

"I don't like the militia's methods," local resident Monica McCannon told KTVZ. "They had their rally. Now it's time for them to go home. People are afraid of them."
      
What the protesters want

When asked what it would take for the protesters to leave, Bundy did not offer specifics. He said he and those with him are prepared to stay put for days or weeks or "as long as necessary."

"We are using the wildlife refuge as a place for individuals across the United States to come and assist in helping the people of Harney County claim back their lands and resources," he said.

"The people will need to be able to use the land and resources without fear as free men and women. We know it will take some time."

He did not explicitly call on authorities to commute the prison sentences for the Hammonds, but he said their case illustrates officials' "abuse" of power.

"Now that people such as the Hammonds are taking a stand and not selling their ranches, they are being prosecuted in their own courts as terrorists and putting them in prison for five years," Bundy said.

He said the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has taken over the space of 100 ranches since the early 1900s.

"They are continuing to expand the refuge at the expense of the ranchers and miners," Bundy said.

He also said Harney County, in southeastern Oregon, went from one of the state's wealthiest counties to one of the poorest.

CNN has not independently corroborated Bundy's claims.

"I want to emphasis that the American people are wondering why they can't seem to get ahead or why everything is costing more and you are getting less, and that is because the federal government is taking and using the land and resources," Bundy said.

What the feds say

Acting U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams of Oregon gave a starkly different perspective on the arson case.

His office declined to comment on the situation at the wildlife refuge Saturday, but it cited an opinion piece written by Williams in the Burns Times Herald last month defending the federal prosecutors' actions in the Hammonds case.

"Five years ago, a federal grand jury charged Dwight and Steven Hammond with committing arson on public lands and endangering firefighters," Williams wrote for the newspaper.

"Steven Hammond was also found guilty of committing a second arson in 2006."

The prosecutor said witnesses saw the Hammonds illegally slaughter a herd of deer on public land.

"At least seven deer were shot with others limping or running from the scene," Williams wrote.

He said a teenage relative of the Hammonds testified that Steven Hammond gave him a box of matches and told him to start the blaze. "The fires destroyed evidence of the deer slaughter and took about 130 acres of public land out of public use for two years," the prosecutor wrote.

Williams also disputed the notion that the Hammonds were prosecuted as terrorists, as Bundy suggested.

"The jury was neither asked if the Hammonds were terrorists, nor were defendants ever charged with or accused of terrorism," Williams wrote. "Suggesting otherwise is simply flat-out wrong."

CNN's Evan Perez, Kevin Liptak and Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.

[thorfourwinds]

BREAKING: FBI en route to Oregon Federal Building occupation

January 3, 2016 7:18 pm EST

Federal Agents arrive in Oregon en masse, prepare to gain tactical advantage over militia with swift, hot, response effort

Go here for live updates:
http://bit.ly/1YZDPuE

Burns, Ore. (INTELLIHUB) — Heavily armed and well-equipped federal agents have arrived in Oregon from various parts of the U.S. to gain tactical advantage over the armed patriot group who commandeered a federal building Saturday, by responding swiftly and with force if necessary.

Additionally, political figures have been placed under an unofficial public gag order and were instructed to not talk about the situation. So far major mainstream coverage of the event has been limited.

It is important to note that if authorities really have issued a sort of unofficial gag order then they are most likely planning on a violent confrontation with the militia and patriot groups on scene.

Intellihub staff anticipates FBI agents, along with embedded members of the press, to arrive on scene sometime during the wee hours of Monday morning.

[thorfourwinds]

Full Story on What's Going on In Oregon – Militia Take Over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge In Protest to Hammond Family Persecution... | The Last Refuge

Posted on January 3, 2016
by sundance

Grab a coffee, because this is soup-to-nuts.

Many people will awaken today to the news of approximately 100 to 150 armed militia taking control of a closed Wildlife Park Headquarters, and not know the full back-story – so here it is:

The short summary is:  in an effort to draw attention to a ridiculous arrest of a father and son pair of Oregon Ranchers ("Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,) who are scheduled to begin five year prison sentences (turning themselves in tomorrow January 4th 2016), three brothers from the Cliven Bundy family and approximately 100/150 (and growing) heavily armed militia (former U.S. service members) have taken control of Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in the wildlife reserve.  They are prepared to stay there indefinitely. [...]

[thorfourwinds]

[zorgon]

[zorgon]

I Stand With The Oregon Militia

When this page hits 25,000 likes, we are giving away an AR-15 for FREE! Obama wants to take it away, but we want you to win it.

[zorgon]

UPDATE

The Three Percenters Club Oregon
.

OFFICIAL OREGON RELEASE FROM TTPC:
.
Yesterday morning there was peaceful march and rally for the support of the Hammond's in Burns Oregon. The rally and march were a huge success, we had some people on the ground. The group was peaceful and it appeared that most of the town was in support of the peaceful actions of the march.
.
At some point a small contingent of Patriots broke off from the march and broke into and seized Malheur Wildlife Refuge. There are reports that the building was not locked, no hours of operation posted, and zero no trespassing signs. While TTPC Supports the Hammond's. This taking over a federal building we do not support nor condone. These actions destroy everything that the Patriot community has been working towards and show the Patriots in a negative light again. They fully diminish what was accomplished in Oregon peacefully.
.
TTPC will continue to support the Hammond's and if requested by the family we will move on their words. We will also continue to support Patriots going about this the right way and taking over a federal building in any aspect is not the way we should be doing this. People are going to wake me what's the right way my answer is simple......I DON'T KNOW......
.
The actions of these Patriots could very well put us all at risk. The government and the media can now portray us as the terrorist threat that they have been claiming for so long. Now they have something to substantiate their claims. There isn't one member of any group or a group ready to go on any offensive action. That being said you all better prepare and be training I fear the day we all pray never comes may be pushed upon us far before we are anywhere near ready!
.
Brian Miller
CO TTPC

[zorgon]

[zorgon]

FBI TO ACT AS LEAD AGENCY IN ENDING OCCUPATION AT THE MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Infowars.com – January 3, 2016
KOIN 6 NEWS IN PORTLAND, OREGON REPORTS FEDERAL OFFICIALS FLEW INTO THE STATE ON SUNDAY "TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION IN BURNS WHERE AROUND 20 ARMED MILITANTS SEIZED CONTROL OF A BUILDING AT THE MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE."

The FBI is reportedly now working with local law enforcement to end the occupation. The FBI will be "the lead agency in dealing with the armed militants."

"These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives to attempt to over throw the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States," said the Harney County Sheriff Dave Warda in a statement released on Sunday.

"We are currently working jointly with several organizations to make sure the citizens of Harney County are safe and this issue is resolved as quickly and peaceful as possible. At this time we do not have any information that any other areas in Harney County are in immediate danger.

"We ask that people stay away from the refuge for their safety. We also ask that if anyone sees any of these individuals in the area to please contact law enforcement and do not confront the individuals themselves..."

http://dailyrapid.com/2016/01/feds-arrive-in-oregon-to-take-control-of-the-situation/

[space otter]

i guess pick your battles still rings true



http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oregon-activists-picked-the-wrong-battle-militia-leaders-say/ar-AAgmarO?li=BBnb7Kz
Reuters
Andy Sullivan
1 hr ago


Oregon activists picked the wrong battle, militia leaders say

Self-styled militia members who seized federal property in rural Oregon in an effort to galvanize opposition to the U.S. government appear to have made a tactical error - potential allies say they picked the wrong battle.

As armed anti-government activists occupied a snowy wildlife refuge for a third day to call attention to a land-use dispute, militia leaders from similar groups across the country criticized the seizure of federal land and a building.

The protesters have said they aim "to restore and defend the Constitution" to protect the rights of ranchers and ignite a national debate about states' rights and federal land-use policy they hope could ultimately force the federal government to release tracts of Western land.

Their occupation of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge comes as the number of paramilitary groups is on the rise in the United States, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy group that tracks their numbers.

But the latest call to arms appears to have failed to resonate with like-minded groups whose support would be crucial for creating a coalition of armed militia members substantial enough to thwart a law enforcement operation.

"There's a better way to go about things," said Brandon Curtiss, president of Three Percent of Idaho, a militia group that has been involved in the dispute. "If you want to make a change like that, you need to get the county citizens behind you to go through the proper channels."

The protesters have rallied behind Oregon ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond, who were found guilty of arson on public land near their property. They were initially sentenced to 12 months in prison, below the federal minimum for arson, but a U.S. judge raised the sentences to five years.

The Hammonds, who turned themselves in as planned on Monday at a federal prison in California, have said they do not support the protesters or their leader, Ammon Bundy, whose father, Cliven Bundy, was at the center of a 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights in Nevada that ended with federal agents backing down in the face of about 1,000 armed militiamen, many on horseback.

The Pacific Patriot Network, an umbrella group for militias in the region, said it did not support seizing federal property even if it understood the underlying frustration with the federal government. "This land use issue is decades old and it's boiling up in frustration. That's what you're seeing," spokesman Joseph Rice said.

The Oath Keepers, another paramilitary group that participated in the 2014 Bundy ranch dispute in Nevada, also distanced itself from the latest standoff.

'WISH TO HELL HE HADN'T DONE THIS'

Some militia leaders said Bundy was using the dispute to provoke the federal government with little regard for the local community.

"Here you have a guy who believes he's on a mission from God. What the Hammonds want and what the community wants is immaterial," said Mike Vanderboegh, a founder of the III Percent Movement, which draws its name from the notion that only 3 percent of Americans actively participated in the Revolutionary War.
Vanderboegh and other leaders said they worried Bundy would provoke a violent response from the U.S. government similar to the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, that ended in the deaths of 76 people.

Three Obama administration officials said federal authorities had been told to avoid a violent confrontation, in line with official U.S. policy after the deadly clashes at Waco and in 1992 at Ruby Ridge, Idaho

Armed U.S. paramilitary groups, which had been on the wane since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, have seen their ranks swell in recent years, driven by fears among the far right that President Barack Obama will threaten gun ownership and erode local rights.

The movement has also been energized by confrontations between ranchers, miners and federal regulators in the Western United States, where the government owns vast stretches of land.

The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates there are 276 active militia groups today, one-third more than before last year's standoff.

The latest incident began after militia groups from Oregon and Idaho staged a peaceful march in the nearby city of Burns on Saturday to protest what they see as heavy-handed management by bureaucrats with little interest in local concerns.

Other militia leaders declined to question Bundy's motives but said he stood little chance of getting the federal government to back down.

"If you want me to demonize this guy, I won't do it," said Bob Wright, a commander of the New Mexico Militia.

"But I wish to hell he hadn't done this," he said. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Jason Szep and Peter Cooney)

[thorfourwinds]

Started streaming 1 hour ago
*** URGENT UPDATE: Jan 5, 2016 @18:20. Pete called and spoke to Ammon Bundy, and he has asked to broadcast information to the public.

[thorfourwinds]

This is a live feed from Pete.

Word is that they expect a confrontation tonight and '"the Feds are on the way."

Live Update Burns Oregon With Pete Santilli - YouTube

Pete Santilli Show
Started streaming less than 1 hour ago
Burns, Oregon