A group of ranchers have began occupying a federal building at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and have vowed to stay there indefinitely after disputes over land rights have gotten worse. It is reported that many armed men and women have been protesting since Saturday.
Back in 2001, father and son ranchers, Dwight (73) and Steven (46) Hammond set fires that spread to government lands that they had leased to graze cattle. In all, 127 acres were burned but the Hammonds alleged that the purpose of those fires occurring between 2001-2006 was to reduce the growth of invasive plants and to protect their property from wildfires. The judge wasn’t buying that and accused them of trying to cover up poaching, so the two men were convicted and sentenced to 5 years for arson. Dwight only served 3 months and Steven only a year. However, more recently the judge ruled that their terms were not long enough and ordered them both back to prison to finish their 5 year sentence. They are expected to turn themselves in tomorrow, but this is what has sparked the protests in Oregon!
The group’s ringleader, Ammon Bundy told CNN, “I want to emphasize that the American people are wondering why they can’t seem to get ahead or why everything is costing more and you are getting less, and that is because the federal government is taking and using the land and resources. And if it is continued, it will put the people in poverty.” He continued, “We will be here as long as it takes. We have no intentions of using force upon anyone, (but) if force is used against us, we would defend ourselves.” Bundy drew national attention last year after staging a standoff with federal authorities over a Bureau of Land Management dispute. “We are not terrorists,” he insisted. “We are concerned citizens and realize we have to act if we want to pass along anything to our children.”
CNN reports:
“CNN law enforcement analyst Art Roderick, a retired U.S. marshal who investigated anti-government militias for years, warned that Bundy’s call for supporters to join him might “turn into a bad situation.”
“What’s going to happen hopefully (is) … we don’t go out there with a big force, because that’s what they’re looking for,” he said. “The last thing we need is some type of confrontation.”
He said that over the years, law enforcement has learned how to handle a situation like this; one that hasn’t erupted in violence and in which a law may be broken, but there’s no immediate threat to anyone’s life.”
The best approach now, Roderick said, is to wait the group out and to figure out how to bring a peaceful end to the standoff.
How are the protests not life-threatening when there are guns attached to the hands of people willing to do whatever it takes to have their rights acknowledged? Maybe this is an excuse, because if this was the case, why have protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement been violated and pushed to the side without the use of guns? Hmmm….
Both Dwight and Steven Hammond are expected to turn themselves in tomorrow, so I can only imagine what these protests will turn into. SMH!
TSR Intern: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on Instagram & @tallyohhh on Twitter!
Source Cited: http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/03/us/oregon-wildlife-refuge-protest/
