Oregon refuge standoff ends
Last holdout threatens to kill himself during phone call.
Four holdouts at a federal wildlife refuge surrendered peacefully Thursday to end a 41-day takeover, but not before one protester balked at the last moment and threatened to shoot himself in a rambling, hour-long discussion livestreamed online.
David Fry, 27, speaking by cellphone on an open line broadcast on YouTube, said he was “feeling suicidal” only moments after his three companions peacefully surrendered to the FBI and a group of negotiators led by evangelist Franklin Graham.
The four were the last holdouts of the takeover of the refuge that began Jan. 2 as a protest against federal land-use policies.
“I am actually pointing a gun at my head. I am tired of living here,” Fry said at one point.
In a long rant to online commentator and activist Gavin Seim and Christian lawyer KrisAnne Hall, Fry complained of his taxes paying for abortions and his marijuana being taken away. Last year, voters in his home state of Ohio turned down a bill to legalize the sale of marijuana.
“I will no longer be a slave to this system,” he said, growing increasingly agitated.
In the end, Fry gave up after telling an FBI negotiator by phone he wanted everyone to shout “hallelujah” if he walked out.
As he fumbled with the cellphone, Fry could be heard shouting, “hallelujah,” and then said, “one more cookie and one more cigarette” before strolling to the FBI checkpoint.
The other three unarmed holdouts gave up without incident. They walked one by one toward an olive green armored vehicle carrying Graham and Nevada lawmaker Michele Fiore.
Holding hands, Sean Anderson, 48, of Riggins, Idaho, and his wife, Sandy, 47, went first, their arms held high. Sean Anderson carried an American flag in his right hand. Sandy Anderson was patted down by an FBI agent and then taken away. Jeff Banta, 46, of Yerington, Nev., went next.
The FBI said the four would be arraigned before a federal judge in Portland on Friday.
Graham, at the request of the protesters and the FBI, was in phone contact with the group for the past week to negotiate an end to the standoff. The North Carolina preacher joined Fiore in an armored vehicle to reach the four holdouts.
The surrender process capped a five-week ordeal that included the arrest of almost a dozen protesters and the shooting death of one in a confrontation with police.
The final act of the drama Thursday morning played out in real time through a phone call streamed online, with Fiore and Graham staying in touch with the protesters. “America’s watching, so nothing is going to happen,” Fiore said.
Before the surrender, Graham also spoke to the group by phone. “We are proud of you and love you and look forward to giving you guys a big hug,” Graham said before praying and climbing into a vehicle to drive to the surrender site.
“We haven’t bathed in a few days so don’t be offended,” Sean Anderson replied.
At one point, Anderson even joked they were “hoping to stop at Denny’s” before going to jail.
FBI agents also arrested Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, the father of the protesters’ jailed leader, who flew to the state in a show of support. Bundy, 69, of Bunkerville, Nev., was arrested after stepping off a plane at Portland International Airport on Wednesday.
He faces federal charges related to a standoff at his ranch with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 2014, according to the Bundy website. Bundy owes $1 million in grazing fees and penalties.