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U.S. NEWS A3
Thursday 28 January 2016
US restricts access to Oregon refuge after fatal standoff
KEITH RIDLER however, marked law en- Kim Rollins, 64, of Burns, stands outside the Harney County Community Center in Burns, Oregon,
Associated Press forcement cars are dotted before the start of a news conference by officials Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. Authorities on Tues-
BURNS, Oregon (AP) — Au- throughout the region. The day arrested the leaders of an armed group who had been occupying the Malheur National
thorities in the U.S. were FBI and Oregon State Po- Wildlife Refuge headquarters to protest federal land policies.
restricting access on lice said they were setting
Wednesday to an Oregon up checkpoints and only (AP Photo/Keith Ridler)
refuge being occupied allowing ranchers who own
by an armed group after property in specific areas what it calls onerous fed- to object to the prison sen- ers convicted of setting
one of the occupiers was to pass. eral land restrictions and tences of two local ranch- fires.q
killed during a traffic stop Police and news media
and eight more, including have converged on the
the group’s leader Ammon nearby town of Burns,
Bundy, were arrested. where most hotels are
The group, which has in- booked to capacity.
cluded people from as Brand Thornton, one of
far away as Arizona and Bundy’s supporters, said
Michigan, seized the head- he left the refuge Monday
quarters of the Malheur and wasn’t sure what those
National Wildlife Refuge on remaining would do.
Jan. 2. They want federal “The entire leadership is
lands turned over to local gone,” he told The Associ-
authorities. ated Press in a telephone
The confrontation came interview. “I wouldn’t
amid increasing calls for blame any of them for
law enforcement to take leaving.”
action against Bundy for Thornton called the arrests
the illegal occupation of “a dirty trick” by law en-
the wildlife refuge. forcement.
Details of the fatal encoun- Each defendant will face
ter were sparse. It hap- a federal felony charge of
pened as Bundy and his conspiracy to impede of-
followers were heading to ficers of the United States
a community meeting late from discharging their
Tuesday afternoon in John official duties through
Day, about 70 miles (110 ki- the use of force, intimida-
lometers) north of Burns. tion or threats, authorities
Arianna Finicum Brown said.
confirmed that her father, Law enforcement previous-
Arizona rancher Robert ly had taken a hands-off
“LaVoy” Finicum, was the approach, reflecting les-
man killed, the Oregonian sons learned during bloody
reported. The 55-year-old standoffs at Waco, Texas,
was a frequent and public and Ruby Ridge, Idaho,
presence at the refuge, of- during the 1990s.
ten speaking for the group Many residents of Harney
at news conferences. County, where the ref-
“This is where I’m going to uge is located, have been
breathe my last breath, among those demanding
whether I’m 90, 95 or 55,” that Bundy leave. Many
Finicum told The Associ- sympathize with his criticism
ated Press on Jan. 5. “ ... of federal land manage-
I’m going to not spend my ment policies but opposed
days in a cell.” the refuge takeover.
The FBI and Oregon State “I am pleased that the FBI
Police would only say the has listened to the con-
man killed in the police cerns of the local commu-
shooting was wanted by nity and responded to the
federal authorities, and illegal activity occurring in
said no more information Harney County by outside
would be released pend- extremists,” Oregon Sen.
ing identification by the Jeff Merkley said in a state-
medical examiner. ment.
Jason Patrick, one of the The Bundys are the sons
leaders of the occupation, of Nevada rancher Cliven
told radio station Oregon Bundy, who was involved in
Public Broadcasting that a high-profile 2014 standoff
five or six group members with the government over
remain inside the refuge. grazing rights.
For weeks law enforce- The group, calling them-
ment vehicles have been selves Citizens for Constitu-
noticeably absent from tional Freedom, came to
the roads surrounding the frozen high desert of
the refuge. Wednesday, eastern Oregon to decry
