Armed Right Wing Militia Members Take Over Federal Wildlife Building in Oregon
In an apparent move to stand with Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr and Steven Hammond, an armed militia group headed by Ammon Bundy and brother Ryan Bundy have occupied a federal wildlife refuge building.
According to The Oregonian, the militia group has taken over the federal building and said that they are prepared to use violence to get what they demand, which is for the federal government to relinquish control of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Ryan Bundy also told the Oregon news agency that they are demanding the release of the two Hammonds and they are willing to fight and die for their demands, if necessary.
"The best possible outcome is that the ranchers that have been kicked out of the area, then they will come back and reclaim their land, and the wildlife refuge will be shut down forever and the federal government will relinquish such control," Ryan Bundy told The Oregonian. "What we're doing is not rebellious. What we're doing is in accordance with the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land."
This turn of events came immediately following a peaceful protest paraded through Burns, OR earlier that day on behalf of the Hammonds who were to be incarcerated. Those protests included militia men as well as local citizens.
Ammon Bundy also said that he and his brother have as many as 100 supporters, but he would not specify if they were inside the federal building with them.
Both Bundy men are sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the Nevada standoff with federal agents last year that ended with the agents backing off and diffusing the situation by leaving.
Both of the brothers have claimed they are willing to stay there for years, if necessary, to get their demands met. There have been no reports of violence at this time and the Harney County Sheriff's Department is actively trying to diffuse the situation.
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