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As Portland’s koin.com is reporting, “Federal authorities set up a perimeter around the Malheur Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday morning where militia members were still occupying in protest. The agencies said in a statement that the containment was to ‘better ensure the safety of community members.’ According to the statement . . .

only Harney County ranchers who own property in specific areas will be required to show identification and be allowed to pass. During a press conference held by the FBI on Wednesday, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in Oregon Greg Bretzing called on the militia still occupying the refuge to leave.”

Based on the KOIN reporter’s tweet above, it would seem that the FBI and local law enforcement mean to end the occupation of the Malheur site today.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward also called on them to leave, saying: “This cant happen anymore. It can’t happen in America and it can’t happen in Harney County.”

In a video by occupier Melvin Lee just posted on TTAG, the police have given occupiers until 4pm PST to vacate the [ironically named] refuge. Watch this space.

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83 COMMENTS

  1. “It can’t happen in America and it can’t happen in Harney County.””

    Waaaa. waaaa, If you don’t go away I’m going to hold my breath until I turn blue! So THERE.

  2. No one else needs to die today. There is nothing to gain for either side of this conflict by causing this to end anyway other than peacefully.

    Surrender isn’t easy, but you don’t win the war by dying at every battle.

    • Sometimes death before dishonor is a viable option. Especially if you know that you won’t get a fair trial. (As in the case that started this.)

      • I cal BS on this. The Hammonds plead guilty and the judge gave them a light sentence due to the fact that the only evidence is that they set some small backfires that crossed over into federal lands. The US Attorney didn’t like that the Judge did that and appealed because the Hammonds plead guilty to a Terrorism charge that had a mandatory minimum of 5 years.

        • Yep… 5 years for less than $1000 worth of damages. They shouldn’t have plead not guilty – but they played the game.

          The jury found that neither fire had caused more than $1,000 in damages.
          There were many many fires from many ranchers and the BLM didn’t prosecute those cases. When they presented the case initially against the hammonds it spanned a 24 year period??? Why now?? After 24 years?? The question begs… why the hammonds? What do the BLM have to gain?

          http://landrights.org/or/Hammond/Hammond-v-United-States-Oregon-Petition-for-Writ-of-Certiorari-Filed-June-17-2013.pdf

        • There was no plea agreement. It was the judge who reduced the sentence on the grounds of “cruel and unusual punishment” after an appeal from the Hammonds, who (correctly) noted that 5 years is way too excessive for what they did, but in direct violation of minimum sentencing guidelines as set by the relevant law.

          So, the law is ridiculous, and the penalty is ridiculous, but the judge has, unfortunately, violated due process while trying to remedy it, and that had to be reversed.

        • A “stretch” is one hell of an understatement. They are not standing there defending their homes, families, and rights like the minutemen. They are there as self-righteous “patriots” who think they know better than everyone else and that protecting our country’s wildlife and natural beauty is less important than their immediate desire to have public land used as they see fit.

        • Lexington was a byproduct of a tyrannical government attempting to seize the powder stores of the colonialists.

          Oregon is a byproduct of a tyrannical government seizing land they have no legal or constitutional claim to.

          So no, not so much of a stretch as you seem to think.

        • To
          Hello from Illinois
          You sound like Adolf Hitler who was also an animal lover and vegetarian. This has been the problem with the federal land oversight. Animals are first and people are last.

      • Without taking a pro or con stance on anything in this thread, let me point out that we have the benefit of hindsight re the Minutemen at Lexington

        It’s much harder to anticipate the consequences – or lack thereof – in real time.

    • Why would you say that? The vocal locals have largely been against the occupiers. I see no blow back on to the sheriff.

    • The Sheriff will probably be good in the job department, but the standoff leaders were picked up on a way to his meeting which could mean people supporting Bundy will be blaming him for the arrests.

      • Um, they were going to John Day. That is a town in GRANT county. This sheriff is for Harney County.

        • So the Sheriff requested a meeting on neutral ground idk, but it was reported from a few sources that the Bundy’s were invited to a meeting to compromise a solution.

    • Probably not given that the locals don’t want these people there and have been saying so for weeks. The only reason they’d be out of a job is because they didn’t act sooner.

      • The “locals don’t want them there” is a media meme. Regardless, feelings of the locals have little to do with constitutional principle.

        • As an Oregon resident who has been through there in the last couple weeks (and is currently only a few miles from the jail Ammon is being held in), it’s not a meme, they don’t want them there.

          Hard to stand up for constitutional principles when the people you’re ostensibly standing up for don’t support you.

  4. Leaving would seem to be the smart thing to do. This situation has just about run its course. leave before the armored vehicles move in.

    • This^ JWM is right leave now and don’t try to be a martyr. Or option b send a reply to the FBI “Nuts”. If anyone actually believes the FEDs are going in at 4 pm, that would be poor tactics by the feds considering they have nightvision.

  5. Here is the problem. Those that remain have done so because they want to put up a fight. Others have left. Victoria Sharps interview is just going to solidify that they will need to defend themselves against any “federal” aggression. Saying that this is going to end badly is an understatement at this point.

  6. Violent protesters destroying Baltimore get “room to destroy”.

    Peaceful protestors sitting around in Oregon get executed.

    Noted for future reference.

  7. Why on earth are the Feds going to storm the site? They cut off the supply lines. The smart thing to do is to wait them out. Not good…

    • Political Pressure or Victoria Sharp’s eyewitness account finally pushed those on the edge over and the Feds want to clean up the mess before the mess gets worse.

    • Because guns… the fed thugs have benn holding onto all the toys all month, this is going to give them a chance to use them. This isn’t a good thing for eeither side and I hope yesterday was an isolated incident and not just the first domino.

    • The smart thing, yes, but two counterpoints.

      1) $$$$$ it takes money to have resources tied up like that

      2) Liberals have been pushing to kill these guys for month to show that black lives matter.

      • Boy ain’t that the truth! I cannot wait till November when I can cast my vote for Donald Trump And finally be rid of this Obama flag that is plagued our country now for almost 8 years Boy what a great economy we have to How many trillions of dollars in debt are we now? Lol Ridiculous

    • Because they need a hook for a “dangerous gun nutz” narrative. Notice they are asking media to leave. Notice also, the BS about “ensuring the safety of community members” – what community members, they are in the middle of nowhere?

  8. Anyone else catching the fact the Feds pushed out the media for “safety”? This isn’t good, less witnesses/cameras means less accountability.

    • Exactly. And the “journalists” will meekly say “yes sir” and parrot back talking points provided by the G.

      • How about we all quit opining until we all have read all the facts from all points of view. “Journalists” have thier agendas as can clearly be seen in thier semantics. I have heard and read a lot of misinformation over the last couple weeks. I think we should put our current perspectives aside, do a LOT of research before penning any more useless unsubstantiated rhetoric.

    • Jeff the Griz, I see the above where they are asking, but is there anywhere that says they are making them leave?

      • Per reports here no one is allowed to enter the area except local ranchers going to their homes. How many Reporters are in eyesight of the buildings?

        • There were several member of the media that didn’t leave this morning and chose to stay. I’m just wondering if they are still there.

  9. Why this term “occupiers?” More accurate would be “terrorists,” “thugs,” “outlaws” or “secessionists.” “Occupiers” makes it sound like they’re law-abiding folks with all their marbles instead of what they are, i.e. gun-waving sociopaths intent on headlines and martyrdom.

    • Really? So civil disobedience is now terrorism? Good to know. I suppose the next Baltimore incident should be resolved with a full on air strike?

      • A full on air strike in Baltimore may not be such a bad idea. Have you been to Baltimore lately?

      • Well, considering their video stream was telling people to kill law enforcement officers that won’t allow people to join them, and “what you gonna do FBI when the militia comes for you?”

        So it’s probably safe to say that it’s gone beyond civil disobedience or simple protest or even self defense.

        http://m.liveleak.com/view?i=6d4_1453922110

      • Sadly, the sentiment expressed above is the new norm according to 99% of comments posted on WaPo and NY Times.

        Not only labelling the Oregon grp domestic terrorists, but demanding full military strikes to take them out. For their families arrested, assets seized, homes bulldozed.

        When questioned about Ferguson and Baltimore the lib will shift to white privilege and if this grp were minority they would already be dead.

        Their views sickened me to the core and made me rethink my thoughts about the country at large

      • Honestly, the next Ferguson/Baltimore incident should be resolved with glorious NAPALM.

    • Perhaps it has something to do with the fact they are “occupying the wildlife refuge” But I know for a fact this isn’t terrorism. They haven’t even been charged with Terrorism. Which is Ironic considering that the Hammonds were charged with Terrorism and all they did was set fire to their own land.

    • Paul, I’ll go with “outlaws” in that they are, by law, trespassing. But they have not called for secession, so they are not secessionists. They have not used violence or threatened violence for the purpose of changing a political system or legal statue, so they are not terrorists, and from what I have read so far, including on NPR, they have not defaced or destroyed the facilities there, and have generally been polite. So it’s hard to call them thugs.
      Don’t be the one making a bad situation worse.

      • Can’t really trespass when there is no property owner.

        The “forts and ports” clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17) specifically spells out the instances when the Federal government may own property. That being a tract of land for the Capitol, forts, ports, dockyards, arsenals, magazines, and other such needful facilities.

        Essentially, the very existence of the wildlife refuge is illegal, and therefor they are not trespassing on federal land. It belongs to the state.

        • The “forts and ports” section doesn’t say that these are the only purposes that the federal government can own land for. It says that forts etc are the only things that Congress has the power to “exercise exclusive legislation” (in other words, in these places, only federal law applies, and not state law).

        • No, the 10th amendment does. Basically, if a power is not specifically granted to the federal government, it doesn’t have it. It’s a very simple concept, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t say you can’t. It doesn’t say you can.

          • Owning property is not a “power”, however, it’s an ability, and an inherent one at that. When federal government owns property, it does not act in a capacity any different from any other entity, public or private, and does not restrict the rights of other entities or persons by doing so.

            What this does mean, though, is that while they can buy property, they cannot create special laws that are in effect on that property (outside of “needful buildings”, for which they’re explicitly given such power) – just as I cannot create a law that makes something illegal for people to do while in my house. At most, I can demand that they leave, and they’d be trespassing if they do not abide; but trespassing is an offence defined and enforced by the state government, not by me.

    • I may disagree with the occupiers plan, but they don’t terrorize me.

      The state on the other hand, they have me far more concerned for my safety.

      So who’s the terrorist here?

    • Criminals? Yes.

      Terrorists? Really? Were you alive in 2001? Maybe you need a refresher course on what terrorism looks like.

    • I don’t see how they are terrorists. The proper term for what they did is seditious conspiracy, defined thus:

      “If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.”

  10. Has Loretta Lynch personally loaded the napalm onto the MRAPS? Has she written “From DC with Love” in lipstick on the canisters?

    • Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot more to get people to wake up. Until they do, the physical assistance of one less than mint condition former E4 ain’t going to do much, if anything. I’m a big fan of using my words until I am FORCED to reach for my guns. Right now, words will have far more impact than guns.

  12. Sounds a lot like Ruby Ridge part 2! Accept no Janet Reno, isn’t it amazing how the federal government comes up with these ideas on how to Establish a traffic stop and do an arrest Warrant It just never fails to amaze me Reminds me of the David Koresh compound with the Hefe when they got blasted off the doorstep by a 50 caliber m2 machine gun it just it never amazes me how smart a country we are but yet how stupid our leaders are! This could have been done in such a better way and more professional way where no life was lost its ridiculous But these stupid lame brain Federal agents and state police are freaking morons!

  13. So are the journalists taking that “advice”?

    This would be a great time to get some enterprising folks out there with drones to keep an eye on things.

    • I said that in my first post this morning. A 100 privately owned drones with HD cameras would keep both sides honest.

    • Drones are registered, and new rules are in place. I bet if you dig through the FAA mandate, you can find something that prohibits their use in this scenario.

  15. All the FBI had to do To deal with this entire problem with no loss of life, was to simply ignore them Don’t give them any type of news no media coverage ignore them let the local And state police deal with the issue so you don’t have federal agents coming in To a small town With small town Way of thinking and force upon their rule. This is a typical federal F up! Anytime the feds get involved it always turns to shit! They should have left this on a local and state level and let the local police Wait these guys out and then once they went home Serve warrants for their arrest when they’re at work or when they’re in their car by themselves so there’s no chance of anyone getting hurt but no they didn’t want to do that they wanted to go ride in and kill that leader of that small little gathering in the woods as I call it So that they could cut the head off the snake So the rest of the body of people would just curl up and coil up and die just like they did I’m telling you this is Ruby Ridge part 2!

    • This is true. All I would have done is put up a perimeter and said, “No one is coming in, and if you want out, it’s by a cop car.” When the food runs out, it’s over. The cops make no aggressive moves and the militia knows that if they attack police positions to escape, they’ve just lost their cause.

      They surrender, load up the paddywagon, and get the justice system moving.

    • The Feds, whether through incompetence, or malicious intents, are indeed forcing the situation down that road. Any kind of hard-line in this situation only serves to increase the chances of violent outcome, and we have history to teach us how that goes.

      • I agree with you completely, I thought law enforcement was there to deescalate the situation, not escalate the situation. Well at least that’s what their training manuals tell them to do!

  16. I hope the news crews have some good lenses on their cameras.
    That is some pretty flat country down yonder. I’ve hunted song dogs and squeekies down there. You can go a dozen miles before any terrain blocks the view.
    That watch tower on the property probably has a view of 50 miles in any direction.

    • i saw a live news broadcast a few hours ago, so i am guessing there are still media onsite of the public refuge grounds.
      Perhaps these guys could have made a stronger statement if they took over one of the Yellowstone park buildings – i know a bunch of ranchers surrounding the Park would to take over the grazing there?

  17. You know, I have a calendar. Why so precipitous?

    It seems to me that quite a few “occupations” of various places by “the occupy movement” lasted way, way, longer than this occupation in protest. Similarly, I don’t recall any reports of rapes, thefts, assaults, drug use, and defecation on police cars for the Oregon folks, while for the “Occupy” movement, I seem to recall such things.

    I also recall various occupy-events, plus, say “hands’ up”, and the recent riots in Baltimore creating real obstruction and sometimes injury and damage to otherwise uninvolved citizens, while the folks in Oregon seem to have not done any of that.

    Why are we shutting this down, by force, right freaking now, BTW, no media allowed?

    It seems that while all protests are created equal; some are more equal than others.

  21. So the feds are going to implement a Lon Horiuchi solution.

    This is my shocked face. They’ve been salivating to kill those occupiers since day one. What the feds don’t want is a peaceful surrender, whether they get one or not.

  22. Its about time the Feds quite treating these people in the usual class of “White Privileged Christians” who most of the time think they can make the law up as they go along and rape Federal land for their own profit preventing the rest of the American people from even attempting to trespass on to their stolen land. Lets face facts if the average white racist admitted it any minority i.e. Black, Hispanic, Immigrant, Gays, Transsexuals or Muslims would have been shot down immediately if they had pulled the same totally illegal theft of government property. We have always had two systems of justice in the country one for the “White Privilege” and an even higher one for” Cops” and another complete set of rules and laws for “2nd class Americans”. Where else in the civilized world was it until recently only legal to shove “White Religion” down the throats of people entering public governmental buildings but totally illegal for other religions to also post their religious effigies and words of wisdom in the same public buildings. Wow! Talk about Constitutional hypocrisy! I should not be surprised because only a few short decades ago many blacks were prevented from voting and this still manifests itself to this very day with Republican attempts to prevent people from voted by making minority Americans jump through hoops just to get the right to vote. Lord forbid if the Republicans let them vote, they might vote Liberal.

    Well this is one time I will not cringe when the Gestapo gears up with tanks, flame throwers and jet planes as now for a change the “White Privilege People” will understand what minorities have gone through for decades in the U.S. And remember this is one of the few times I ever took the Governments point of view but lets face cold hard facts these Yokels have had plenty of time to surrender or even leave with no arrest used against them. They made their point even if they were too dumb to do it legally with a peaceful protest and with paper signs and permits rather than guns and threats of violence. How can anyone have any sympathy for them but what would you expect from a bunch of clowns parading around in Cowboy hats and guns as that says it all, eh?

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