Four holdouts want charge dropped for one to end Ore. occupation
The group has been negotiating with the FBI to finally end the occupation
8 minutes ago
By Les Zaitz
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
BURNS, Ore. — With arrests and voluntary departures, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge last night was left in the hands of just four people, according to a live video by one of the remaining occupiers.
David Fry, 27, of Ohio, said in his feed posted after midnight Wednesday the group has been negotiating with the FBI to finally end the occupation.
Law enforcement officials couldn't be reached early Thursday to confirm Fry's statements.
"We're willing to leave," Fry said. "Out of five people left here, four of us are allowed to leave and one of them, he's charged with a felony."
Fry said an FBI negotiator told them the fifth man has a warrant for his arrest for the federal charge of conspiracy to interfere with federal employees. Federal authorities have used that charge to arrest 11 occupiers in the past two days.
Fry identified the man as "Sean," a possible reference to Sean L. Anderson, 47, a militiaman from Riggins, Idaho.
On Thursday morning, Fry posted yet another video, this time showing a mournful scene at the refuge with two of the occupiers -- apparently Anderson and his wife Sandy -- dancing to music blaring from a truck radio. The song: "Tangled Up in You" by Staind. The video shows supplies scattered on the ground, vehicles parked next to a small canopy, a U.S. flag propped against a pick-up truck.
At one point, someone said, "We've got someone on the hill behind us.
Anderson addressed the camera after the dance.
"We want to go home," said Anderson, dressed in camouflage gear. "We don't need checkpoints. We don't need felony charges. We're camping out here."
His last words in the scene: "God help us."
Fry said the charge stands in the way of a peaceful end to the occupation, now in its 27th day. The remaining occupiers are isolated now at the refuge. Police have established roadblocks and checkpoints at several locations around the refuge headquarters, allowing no one in. Anyone leaving the refuge is stopped, identified and searched.
The man identified as Sean said on the video he has been to the refuge on four occasions for two to three days at a time, returning home between visits.
Fry said others with more involvement in the occupation have been allowed to leave the refuge without charges. He specifically cited one of the bodyguards for Ammon Bundy, a possible reference to Mark McConnell, who released his own video Wednesday describing his role as a driver for Bundy at the time of the highway stop that resulted in one death.
Sean shouldn't be arrested, Fry said on the video.
"We're asking them to just drop the charges," Fry said. "And nobody dies."
He said those remaining were willing to have their weapons checked by police as they leave to ensure they aren't stolen.
"We're being reasonable," Fry said.
Without the charge being dropped, the remaining occupiers will stay at the refuge, Fry said.
"Are they really going to kill five people for refusing to drop a charge?" Fry asked.
He asked that law enforcement honor declarations that those on the refuge were free to go, implying they could do so without facing arrest.
On Wednesday, one of the last leaders of the occupation, Jason Patrick, 43, of Bonaire, Georgia, was arrested after he hiked about six miles from the refuge to a police checkpoint. Patrick assumed leadership of the ever-dwindling ranks of the occupiers after Bundy, his brother and others were arrested.
Joseph Rice, a founding member of the Pacific Patriots Network, a group pushing for dialogue between the occupiers and the FBI, told The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday that Patrick had been assured he would have safe passage out of the area. Rice called Patrick's subsequent arrest a betrayal.
Two other occupiers were arrested Wednesday. Duane L. Ehmer, 45, of Irrigon, and Dylan W. Anderson, 34, of Provo, Utah, were arrested at a police checkpoint. Each was charged with federal conspiracy.
All three were subsequently booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland pending arraignment.
They join seven others transferred to Portland after their arrests in Harney County. Besides Ammon Bundy, the group included Ryan Bundy, 43, of Bunkerville, Nevada; Ryan W. Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Montana; Brian Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada; Shawna J. Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah; Joseph D. O'Shaughnessy, 43, of Cottonwood, Arizona; and Pete T. Santilli, 50, of Cincinnati.
Jon Ritzheimer, 32, of Peoria, Arizona, surrendered in Arizona and was expected to be moved to Portland for arraignment in U.S. District Court.
Copyright 2016 The Oregonian
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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