January 10, by Nigel Duara, Reporting from Portland Oregon.
The men who walked into an Oregon federal wildlife refuge Jan. 2 and declared it their own have an acute sense of the media moment.
They’ve seized on fears of federal interference in Western affairs and said just enough, in just the right places (usually in front of the cameras), to garner national attention. The armed occupiers have said that they are willing to stay at the refuge for years and die fighting if they must. Their goals, however, are still somewhat unclear.
After days of mumble-mouthed responses and terse press releases, Sheriff David Ward, the man who hopes to expel them, is finally learning to manage his part of the drama.
Ward, whom everyone here calls Sheriff Dave, has turned to the same devices that have landed his occupying adversaries on television: He is now holding events intended to draw media attention, manipulating the twitchy-fingered amplifier of social media and encouraging his supporters to speak up.
He is, in short, turning to spectacle.
That was evident at a meeting Wednesday at the Harney County Fairgrounds. The meeting, called by the sheriff on his home turf, was ostensibly to answer community questions.
But unlike the days leading up to the meeting, Ward seemed determined to create some drama, casting himself as the lead character. The theme and plot were simple: a man standing up to outside forces that have threatened his community, his family and himself.
Ward discussed how the occupation was impeding the liberty and personal freedoms of the residents of Hines and Burns, Ore., about 30 miles from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Ward said his wife’s tires were slashed, prompting her to “pack up and leave town.” His parents were seated in the audience, and he asked them to stand, saying they had been followed home. “Those are true Americans right there,” he said to applause.
John Lamborn, a local defense attorney, approached the microphone. Lamborn and Ward are usually on opposite sides at the local county courthouse, but not at this meeting.
“Now, there are some people questioning your patriotism,” Lamborn said.
Ward nodded.
“Sheriff Dave, you’re a veteran, right?” Lamborn asked.
Ward said he was, and proceeded to detail his military history, including tours in Somalia and Afghanistan.
The crowd cheered.
Standing face-to-face, they seemed to speak more to the audience — and the row of cameras behind them — than to each other. Each man paced with a microphone in his hand.
The conflict in Harney County has become less a standoff than a battle for hearts and minds. The federal government could, at any time, clear the wildlife refuge compound of protesters.
But the police and federal agencies charged with law enforcement in this high-desert scrubland in the shadow of Steens Mountain are trying to write a new script for dealing with an occupation.
Ward has emphasized the support he’s gotten from Oregon’s sheriffs. Two of them stood next to him while he spoke with Bundy.
If Ward can help it, this is the way the occupation will end: quiet and peacefully, not with a bang but a whimper.
Militants In Oregon Say They’ll Leave If Local Community Asks
January 6, By Merrit Kennedy
Anti-federalist militants continue to hold the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., as law enforcement officials keep their distance. But they say they’re willing to leave if local residents ask them to, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
For three days, this heavily armed group has occupied the federal building to support Dwight and Steven Hammond, who had been convicted of arson on federal lands and served short terms. Those sentences were extended by a judge who said they were too brief.
The county sheriff says the Hammonds have turned themselves in to serve the extended sentences.
A lawyer for the Hammonds was quoted on Monday as saying the ranchers will ask President Obama for clemency.
Late Monday, the apparent leader of the armed occupiers, Ryan Bundy, told OPB reporters that the group — which has branded itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom — would respect the wishes of the local community
“This is their county – we can’t be here and force this on them,” Bundy told OPB Monday. “If they don’t want to retrieve their rights, and if the county people tell us to leave, we’ll leave.”
Bundy tells OPB that he hopes to have a community meeting organized within the next day.
Ryan’s brother, Ammon Bundy, accused multiple federal agencies of pursuing the Hammond family because they have refused to sell their ranch. The Hammonds “have multiple times refused the purchase of it, and because of that, have been prosecuted for actions that ranchers have done for over 100
years in this country, and this valley.” NPR has not independently verified Bundy’s version of the events.
This is their only demand, he says: “All we have been asking from the very beginning is that they put together an evidential hearing board to look at the evidences, look at the accusations that are set forth, and to look at the abuses the Hammonds have been experiencing.”
Harney County Sheriff David Ward accuses the armed men of having larger goals. “These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States,” OPB reported.
The Two-Way has gone into depth about the history of tension between the federal government and ranchers in the West.
It’s important to note that the Hammond family has not said it is linked to the armed occupation claiming to support it. Susan Hammond, who is married to Dwight, told OPB that “I don’t really know the purpose of the guys who are out there. … I kind of understand where they come from, as far as their priorities in life.”
NPR’s Martin Kaste, who is at the scene, said it’s not clear how many people are occupying these buildings.
