Last four land protesters give up
Group’s leader also arrested, along with 7 others elsewhere
Associated Press
With the FBI tightening its ring around them, the last four holdouts in the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered Thursday, ending a 41-day standoff that left one man dead and exposed simmering anger over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western land.
Federal authorities in six states also arrested seven other people accused of being involved in the occupation and brought charges against a leader of the movement who organized a 2014 standoff.
Two more suspects remained at large.
The last occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge gave up without incident a day after federal agents surrounded the site and a negotiator spoke to them.
Nearby residents were relieved.
“I just posted ‘hallelujah’ on my Facebook,” said Julie Weikel, who lives next to the nature preserve. “And I think that says it all. I am so glad this is over.”
At least 25 people have now been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to impede employees at the wildlife refuge from performing their duties.
Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.
The elder Bundy appeared in federal court Thursday in Portland to hear the charges against him, all of which stem from the 2014 confrontation with federal authorities in Nevada.
He’s accused of leading supporters who pointed milita r y-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland. The charges include conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice and weapons charges.
Federal authorities have not said why they chose to arrest the 69-year-old now. They may have feared Bundy’s presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts.
At the court hearing, the elder Bundy asked for a court-appointed attorney. U. S. Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart said she wanted to see financial documents first.
Stewart set a detention hearing for next Tuesday, and Bundy will stay in jail until then.
Bomb squads planned to go through the refuge’s buildings to make sure no explosives were left behind, said Greg Bretzing, the agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland division.
The refuge will remain closed for weeks as specialists collect evidence a nd tr y to determine whether the occupiers damaged any tribal artifacts and burial grounds sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe, he said.
The last four occupiers were scheduled to be arraigned today in Portland. They are 27-year-old David Fry of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho.