Days after a group of heavily armed men seized a wildlife refuge building in the state of Oregon, federal authorities have concluded not to use armed force to drive the militia out of the building.
The armed men, many of them ranchers, accused the federal authorities of unfairly punishing poor ranchers who refused to sell and leave their lands to federal authorities.
They therefore stormed the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Burns, taking control of the area and calling for “patriots” in the United States to join them in the fight against the federal government.
Since the armed men took over the building on January 3, they have allowed journalists to have access to the area. They told journalists that they are ready to occupy the building for a very long time until the federal government reverses its land policy in the area.
But in a latest development, the federal government has decided to use soft power to force the militia out of the area, rather than engaging them with armed police or the military.
According to Occupy Democrat, federal authorities are now cutting power, roads and telephone lines in the occupied building.
Occupy Democrat quoted an unnamed official in Washington saying “It’s in the middle of nowhere. And it’s flat-ass cold up there. After they shut off the power, they’ll kill the phone service. Then, they’ll block all the roads so that all those guys have a long, lonely winter to think about what they’ve done.”
Weather experts say temperatures in the Burns area are expected to fall around 18 degrees Fahrenheit, with snowstorms expected over the next few days. The federal authorities therefore believe that cutting power supply and other services to the area will compel the militia to leave the building.
But when the militia allowed journalist to inspect the area being occupied, journalists reported that the men had reserved meat and fruits, indicating that they are fully prepared to stay in the area for a very long time.
Since the armed men took over the building, there have been different reports in the media. As some reports describe them as terrorists, others also say they are fighting for their rights.
However, from what we have gathered, federal authorities in the Harney County area have, over the years, been forcing ranchers to sell their lands in order to use them as conservation sites.
And what infuriated the men to take up arms is that a District Judge recently sentenced Dwight Lincoln Hammond, 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46, to five years in prison for committing arsons on federal lands. Dwight and his son are both ranchers in Harney County.
CNN reported that prosecutors said the Hammonds set the fire, burning about 130 acres of land in 2001 to cover up poaching.
But the Hammonds defended themselves in court by stating they lit the fire to reduce the growth of invasive plants, and to protect their property from wildfires. However, their defense was blatantly rejected by the presiding judge, Ann Aiken.
Supporters of the Hammonds said the Hammonds were treated unconstitutionally because the two were convicted of arson under a provision of an expansive federal law punishing terrorism. And they both served their prison terms for 2001 and 2006 fires, but were then told by these same judges that they have to go back to prison to serve more.
Therefore, in solidarity with the Hammonds, and to show that they are fed up, some 300 people marched through the town of Burns on Saturday, January 2nd to protest against the decision of the court. They also protested against the federal authorities for unjustly encroaching and taking over their lands where their animals graze.
Then on Sunday, January 3rd, the ranchers organized themselves into a group, armed themselves heavily and seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, challenging the federal government for a showdown out of frustration. The ranchers claimed the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has taken over the space of some 100 ranches since the early 1900s.
Spokesman for the militia, Ammon Bundy has said that the Harney County area used to be the richest in state, but now, due to the actions of federal authorities of forcing ranchers to sell their lands, the area is now the poorest in the state. And the only way to solve the situation is to have armed “patriots” come and live in a de-facto self-rule zone independently of federal authorities.
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Treat Blacks, Muslims, and Minorities the same! STOP USING ARMED FORCE!
They are armed domestic terrorists who are defending arsonists. The only reason its a soft approach is they are white. Americans lol.
This the federal gov. we’re talking about here. If you’ll notice every time you hear about violence being used against minorities and protesters it’s state authorities who take the whole “charge in and break things” approach to fix the problem. Ever since the bloody fiasco at Waco the feds have generally taken a more “soft power” approach when dealing with domestic terrorism. State and city governments have yet to learn this lesson. This is what happens when you have a three tiered federal government. I.e. National, State, and local.
They are not terrorists, they are people who back what was taken from them!!!! Wait til they take what is rightfully yours and you will wake and ask these same type of people for help. You are a sheep my friend!
Rather alike the land was taken from the Native Amercans in the first place? Or do you white skinned people really that self entitled? Don’t bother to answer, I already know it.
Another White Skin with a sense of proportion.
That why the construction says they can do. If people go there they will find out that US has been taking there land for eminent domain. I got a friend they did that to and he got 1\3 he was going to get for it. He had a peace of land and had a buyer for it everything was ready to transfer at Bank next day when they came and told him he could not sell it because of eminent domain . It’s time that stops.
1.5 million acres of the malhuer wid life refuge is payute native american land those folks are squatters mormons government welfare dead beats they 0wn n0thing the federal government should give back that land back to the payute native americans who are the real owners of malhuer wild life refuge
I’m glad the ranchers did this. Unfortunate it’s going to go down like so, but, I hope they win.
Those poor put-upon ranchers!!!
Cliven Bundy, who owns a sprawling 600,000-acre ranch, is a multimillionaire many times over, especially given his years of unpaid grazing fees. The $1.2 million he owed leading up to the 2014 standoff has still not been collected, so that can be added to his already considerable wealth. The grazing fees ranchers pay to the federal government barely cover the Bureau of Land Management’s costs of maintaining public land used for grazing, and come at a 93 percent discount in comparison to the prices private landowners charge per month for each cow grazing on their property. Ammon Bundy is also a multimillionaire with a still-outstanding government small business loan of $530,000.
They’re dependent on massive government subsidies!!!
Aside from the ridiculously low grazing fees that renegade millionaire ranchers like the Bundy clan refuse to pay, the cattle industry enjoys a large number of subsidies and handouts that other taxpayers don’t. Here are just two of them.
Ranchers get major discounts when leasing public land for their own private businesses, costing taxpayers anywhere between $52 and $200 million annually.
The USDA’s Wildlife Services department kills off natural predators that threaten cattle owned by private ranchers, which costs approximately $100 million per year.
And after all that, the “terrible” government allows them to illegally occupy a federal building and threaten to use violent action, and responds to them by asking that they put their weapons away and go home peaceably. And these guys want Americans (who are footing the bill so they can make millions)to somehow feel sorry for them.