Malheur Standoff Ends in Bloodshed

The standoff between Bundy family lead ranchers, who occupied an unused Federal building at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in protest of the treatment of local ranchers at the hand of the federal government ended in a shooting at a roadblock set by the FBI and local authorities to "catch" the main agitators. The result was one rancher dead, and another injured, and the apprehension of several of the groups main characters:

Oregon standoff spokesman Robert 'LaVoy' Finicum killed, Bundys in custody after shooting near Burns

Oregon standoff spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was killed and other leaders of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation were arrested Tuesday after the FBI and state police stopped vehicles about 20 miles north of Burns.

Authorities did not release the name of the person who died at the highway stop, but Finicum's daughter confirmed it was Finicum, 55, of Cane Beds, Arizona, one of the cowboy-hat wearing faces of the takeover.

"My dad was such a good good man, through and through," said Arianna Finicum Brown, 26, one of Finicum's 11 children. "He would never ever want to hurt somebody, but he does believe in defending freedom and he knew the risks involved."

Ryan Bundy, 43, of Bunkerville, Nev., suffered a minor gunshot wound in the confrontation about 4:30 p.m. along U.S. 395. He was treated and released from a local hospital and was in FBI custody, authorities said.

Also arrested during the stop were his brother, Ammon Bundy, 40, of Emmett, Idaho, Ryan W. Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Mont., Brian Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada, and Shawna J. Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah. They were charged with conspiracy to impede federal officers, a felony.

I'm sure this is so they can charge all those apprehended at the scene with murder, for participating in a felony that led the the death of their friend.

Finicum on Monday said an interview that "the tenor has changed" between the occupiers and federal authorities.

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum's last interview with The Oregonian on the day before his death
"They're doing all the things that shows that they want to take some kinetic action against us," Robert "LaVoy" Finicum says of federal agents. These were some of Finicum's last words to The Oregonian/OregonLive on the day before his death.

"They're doing all the things that shows that they want to take some kinetic action against us," he said.

A bit prophetic, but also an indication that he might have been a little high strung.

Little detail was available about the dramatic finish to the free-roaming ways of the militant leaders. State police said troopers were involved in the shooting and that one person died, another suffered non-life-threatening injuries and no police were hurt.
. . .
The leaders were on the highway bound for John Day, where they were scheduled to participate in an evening community meeting set up by local residents. A crowd of several hundred had gathered at the John Day Senior Center and were subsequently told the the "guest speakers" would not be appearing.

The highway was blocked for a 40-mile stretch between Burns and John Day. Police were stationed near Seneca, a small city of 200 south of John Day, with long guns. They said they didn't know how long the roadblock would be place. Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer was there.

A few thoughts on this.

Challenging the federal government with guns in your hands is probably a bad idea, unless you are really willing to take it to the end. If that's what really happened.

Rumors are already circulating the Finicum was shot while attempting to surrender. I'm pretty confident that dash cam, body cam and probably even an Imax grade movie were shot at the scene to document the arrest. If something doesn't come out pretty soon, we can safely assume that the authorities are pulling a Rahm Immanuel to cover it up. Do not trust initial reports from either "side."

I'm sure the Obama administration will be opening an investigation into the representation of ranchers among the local cops and FBI. /sarc

There's no reason on earth that the Federal Government needs to own more than 50% of the land in Oregon, and rent it back to ranchers to graze on. If someone is making even marginal use out of it, they should have the opportunity to purchase it at a market price. Land is better used by owners than tenants.

Someone needs to look into the methods used by the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, and its parent, the Interior Dept. to acquire private lands to add to their holdings, as they were apparently trying to do to the Hammonds in Oregon, and the Bundys in Arizona. All bureaucrats want to expand their domain of influence and holdings, and want more and more restrictions on non-governmental citizens activities there. This is an area ripe for a reversal.

#Rancherslivesmatter