1 killed, several arrested in armed militia standoff
FBI and Oregon State Police take the leaders of the militant group during a traffic stop
The FBI and Oregon State Police arrested the leaders of an armed group that has occupied a national wildlife refuge for the past three weeks during a traffic stop that led to gunfire — and one death — along a highway through the frozen high country.
Militant leader Ammon Bundy and his followers were reportedly heading to a community meeting at the senior center in John Day, a Grant County town about 110 kilometers north of Burns, to address local residents to discuss their views on federal management of public lands.
In a statement, the FBI and Oregon State Police said agents had made eight arrests that included Bundy, 40, and his brother Ryan Bundy, 43, during a traffic stop on US Highway 395 on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said two others were arrested separately in Burns, while FBI agents in Arizona arrested another group member.
Each will face a federal felony charge of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats, authorities said.
Oregon State Police con- firmed that its troopers were involved in the traffic- stop shooting. One of those arrested, described only as a man, suffered non- life- threatening wounds and was treated at a hospital, the agencies said. Another man “who was a subject of a federal probable cause arrest” was killed, they said. The agencies said they would not release further information about the death pending identification by the medical examiner.
The Oregonian reported that Arizona rancher Robert Finicum was the person killed, citing the man’s daughter. The 55- year- old was a frequent and public presence at the refuge , often speaking for the group.
Arianna Finicum Brown confirmed her father’s death to the paper, saying “he would never want to hurt somebody, but he does believe in defending freedom and he knew the risks involved.”