Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were occupied by armed militants in early 2016
Date	January 2, 2016 (2016-01-02) – February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11) (40 days)
Location	Harney County, Oregon (30 mi (48 km) south of Burns, Oregon) 43°15′55″N 118°50′39″W / 43.265404°N 118.844272°W / 43.265404; -118.844272
Caused by	Return to prison of ranchers who pled guilty to arson on federal property and group's belief the federal government lacks authority to own and manage public lands in U.S. states[1] Leader's belief to be under the direction of a divine message[2]
Goals	Short-term: Disrupt the work of federal employees at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge[3] Release of Dwight and Steven Hammond from custody and the establishment of an "independent evidentiary hearing board" by state and county representatives to re-examine the Hammond's case[4] Long-term: Transfer of federal lands to private ownership or to state, county, or local government control[5]
Methods	Armed occupation of federal property; claim adverse possession of the "land, property and vacant buildings"[6][7] Convene a "citizens grand jury" Encourage the formation of a "committee of safety" Petition[8] Public meetings Rallies and marches Social media and press conferences
Resulted in	26 militants were all indicted and arrested for federal felony conspiracy offenses and some other individual charges. A 27th militant was indicted and arrested for theft of federal property, but not for conspiracy. Charges against one defendant, Peter Santilli, were dropped Twelve pleaded guilty Seven were acquitted by a federal jury on October 27, 2016[9] Four were convicted by a federal jury on March 20, 2017 A total of $78,000 in fines between $3,000 and $10,000 were assessed against thirteen defendants Nine were sent to prison One militant was killed while resisting arrest and one militant was wounded before being arrested.
Parties
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)[10] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Governor of Oregon Oregon State Police (OSP)[11] Grant County Sheriff's Office (GCSO)[12] Harney County Sheriff's Office (HCSO)[10] Burns Paiute Tribe Burns Paiute Tribal Police[13] Anti-government militants[14][15] Pro-occupation: Citizens for Constitutional Freedom[16][17] Anti-occupation: Pacific Patriots Network (PPN)[18][19] 3 Percenters of Idaho
Lead figures
Gregory T. Bretzing (FBI Special Agent in Charge) Kate Brown (Oregon Governor) Steven E. Grasty (Harney County Judge) David M. Ward (Harney County Sheriff) Ammon Bundy Ryan Bundy[20] Brian Cavalier Blaine Cooper[5][21] Robert LaVoy Finicum † Ryan Payne[21] Jon Ritzheimer
Number
FBI – unknown Oregon State Police – unknown ~37 local police[22][23] 40 (Los Angeles Times estimate) "Several dozen" (The Washington Post estimate) 20 to 25 (The Oregonian estimate)
One occupier dead, one wounded
Death(s)	Robert LaVoy Finicum[24]
Injuries	Ryan Bundy[25]
Arrested	27
Charged	27
Fined	13
Location in Oregon Show map of Oregon Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (the United States) Show map of the United States

On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists^[26] seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon,^[27] and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February 11, 2016.^[28] Their leader was Ammon Bundy, who participated in the 2014 Bundy standoff at his father's Nevada ranch. Other members of the group were loosely affiliated with non-governmental militias and the sovereign citizen movement.

The organizers were seeking an opportunity to advance their view that the federal government is constitutionally required to turn over most of the federal public land they manage to the individual states, in particular land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), United States Forest Service (USFS), and other agencies.^[29] In 2015, the militants believed they could do this by protesting the treatment of two area ranchers convicted of federal land arson, who they believed were wrongly convicted, even though the men in question, Dwight and Steven Dwight Hammond, father and son, did not want their assistance.^[30] The occupation began when Bundy led an armed party to the refuge headquarters following a peaceful public rally in the nearby city of Burns.^[31]

By February 11, all of the militants had surrendered or withdrawn from the occupation, with several leaders having been arrested after leaving the site; one of them, Robert LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed during an attempt to arrest him after he reached toward a handgun concealed in his pocket^[25][32] after he tried to evade a roadblock; Ryan Bundy was wounded. More than two dozen of the militants were charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft, and depredation of federal property.

By August 2017, a dozen had pleaded guilty, and six of those had been sentenced to 1–2 years' probation, some including house arrest. Seven others, including Ammon and Ryan Bundy, were tried and acquitted of all federal charges. Five more had been found guilty and were sentenced months later. Seven of the militants saw prison time for their roles in the occupation. Jake Ryan and Duane Ehmer each received 366 days in prison, with Ryan additionally getting three years of supervised probation. Darryl Thorn received 18 months of prison time on November 21, 2017.^[33] Jason Patrick received 21 months on February 15, 2018. Ryan Payne was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison along with three years of supervision on February 27, 2018. Jon Ritzheimer was sentenced to 366 days in federal prison and another 12 months in a residential re-entry program. Corey Lequieu was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervision. Two others, Joe O'Shaughnessy and Brian Cavalier, were detained for at least a year, but released on time served plus three years of supervision each, plus fines.^[34]