Trump pardons father and son arsonists

DONALD TRUMP yesterday pardoned two ranchers in Oregon whose imprisonment for arson sparked a 41-day standoff between federal forces and protesters and ended in a violent confrontation.

Dwight Hammond, 76, had served three years in prison and his son Steven, 49, had served four. The Hammonds were found guilty in 2012 of starting a fire that consumed 139 acres of federal land. The justice department said that the blaze was started to cover up evidence of illegal deer hunting.

Their five-year minimum jail sentences caused uproar in their home state, where the Hammond family were outspoken about land being accessible to the public. A fierce protest sprung up in Burns, Oregon, which mutated into an armed occupation of the Malheur national wildlife refuge, in which one protester was shot and killed.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, described the father and son as “devoted family men,” and “respected contributors to their local community”.