BURNS, Ore. -- Militia members who overran a federal building in rural Harney County, Oregon told reporters Monday that the seizure of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters was an act of protest against what they saw as government overreach.
Members of the group - who asked to be identified by the name "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom" - said during a news conference that they were reacting to the re-sentencing of a pair of ranchers who were ordered back to prison after an appeals judge determined their sentences in an arson case fell below the federal mandatory minimum.
The mix of militia members and ranchers also wants the government to relinquish control of public lands in order for individuals to use it without federal restrictions or oversight.
Dwight Hammond Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Hammond, 46, are expected to turn themselves in at the prison Monday. Prosecutors say the pair set fires that burned onto federal land to cover up evidence of illegal poaching; supporters of the ranchers argue the Hammonds lit fires to quell the spread of invasive plants and remove fuels that could pose wildfire danger.
The takeover of the wildlife refuge headquarters about 30 miles southeast of Burns followed a peaceful protest in support of the Hammond family. Members of the group did not answer questions from the media about how many people are currently staying at the federal building.
Ammon Bundy, a spokesman for the group, said the Hammonds had been "prosecuted for actions that ranchers have done for over 100 years in this county and in this valley, and for protecting their private property."
Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy, who rose to notoriety in 2014 after his legal dispute with the Bureau of Land Management about grazing fees on federal land boiled over into an armed standoff with federal employees.
Many of those occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building are also armed, although there was no law enforcement or federal agents present Monday. Bundy said he didn't think authorities would attempt to force them out, and did not respond to a reporter's follow-up question about how the group will react if they do.
He ascribed the lack of police action to his group's values and their choice of location.
"We're based on constitutional principles, we know that we're right, and we chose a facility that was not downtown," he said.
The FBI said in a statement Monday they hoped to resolve the situation without violence.
"The FBI is working with the Harney County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge," the agency wrote. "The FBI is the lead investigative agency for the situation at the refuge and public safety is a top priority.The FBI is working with the Harney County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The FBI is the lead investigative agency for the situation at the refuge and public safety is a top priority."
Bundy said he is prepared to stay as long as is necessary. The group is calling on the government to abandon the wildlife refuge and hand that land over to county control. He said the occupiers would only leave when they saw their demands were being met by actions, not words.
"That would be for the federal government to remove their unconstitutional presence in this county," he said.
The group has also asked state and county representatives for a "independent evidentiary hearing board" to be created to investigate and respond to their assertions that the Hammonds' case was mishandled and that the federal government is violating the Constitution.
"If we do not receive your response within five days, we will have no choice but to understand that you do not want to wish to do your duty and are content to act in negligence to defend the rights and liberties of the people," Shawna Cox read from a legal document.
It's unclear whether the takeover had the Hammonds' blessing. Bundy said that he had not spoken with the family in several days. The Associated Press reported the Hammonds' attorney said the pair will petition President Barack Obama for clemency on their sentences.
Several Burns residents told KTVB they did not support the outsiders' tactics. Area schools were canceled Monday as a precaution, and one of the schools is currently being used as a staging area for law enforcement. No one from Harney County is staying with the group at the wildlife refuge, although it's unknown whether some in the area approve of Bundy's actions from afar.
LaVoy Finicum, a rancher from northern Arizona, said he joined the movement because he was concerned the government's control of lands was growing and will have negative impacts on his livelihood.
"It's about my family, it's about the Hammond family," Finicum said, adding that he had spoken to ranchers in multiple states who take the same stance. "They're all feeling this same pressure that is coming down upon them. Their livelihood is being threatened and taken away. Ranchers are being regulated out of business."
Finicum said the occupation is aimed at helping ranchers reclaim their lands from the government and get back to the business of production.
"We did not come here to sit as children to stamp our feet and demand that certain things are met," he said. "We're going to go to work. We're going to try to help these ranchers that have lost their ranches."
The Harney County Sheriff held a news conference Monday afternoon telling the group, "It's time for you to leave our community."
Monday night, Ryan Bundy told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he and the other men occupying the wildlife refuge will leave peacefully if the community wants them to. He says the armed occupiers will be calling for a meeting in the near future.
