An armed antigovernment group took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building, operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The group blocked entrances and built a bonfire in front of the building, saying Sunday it was willing to stay "for years."
Leading the group is Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven Bundy, who recently had a standoff with the government over his use of federal lands for cattle grazing. Bundy, accompanied by his brother and others, said the group will not leave until the people of Harney County "can use these lands as free men."
"We're out here because the people have been abused long enough really," Bundy said in a video posted on Facebook. "Their lands and their resources have been taken from them to the point where it's putting them literally in poverty, and this facility has been a tool in doing that. It is the people's facility, owned by the people."
Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, were convicted of arson on federal land after a judge ruled the sentences they had previously served were not long enough. More than 100 people marched through Burns, Oregon, in a peaceful protest that eventually turned violent. When the militants arrived at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, they quickly took over the federal building and blocked its entrances.
In response to the conviction, Bundy said, "The people cannot survive without their land and resources. We cannot have the government restricting the use of that to the point that it puts us in poverty."
According to the New York Times, the Fish and Wildlife Service said no employees were hurt in the standoff. "While the situation is ongoing, the main concern is employee safety and we can confirm that no federal staff were in the building at the time of the initial incident," a press officer for the agency said.
