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Militia Member Who Was Killed Vowed Never to Go to Jail
'I have no intention of spending any of my days in a concrete box'
LaVoy Finicum speaks to the media after members of an armed group along with several other organizations arrive at the at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
(NEWSER) – One of the militia members occupying an Oregon wildlife refuge told MSNBCon Jan. 5 that he'd be willing to die rather than go to jail. He was killed by authorities during a traffic stop exactly three weeks later, the Washington Post reports. "I have been raised in the country all my life," Robert "LaVoy" Finicum told MSNBC. "I love dearly to feel the wind on my face, to see the sun rise, to see the moon in the night. I have no intention of spending any of my days in a concrete box." Finicum was shot and killed Tuesday as authorities arrested five other militia members on their way to a meeting, the Post reports. He was a 54-year-old rancher from Arizona who had been serving as the occupiers' spokesperson since they took over a building in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2.
The Oregonian reports it's still unclear exactly what happened during the confrontation with police Tuesday evening. Sources say Finicum was refusing to follow orders from state troopers when he was shot. But supporter and Nevada politician Michele Fiore says Finicum was not resisting arrest. "He was just murdered with his hands up," she tweeted. "He would never ever want to hurt somebody, but he does believe in defending freedom and he knew the risks involved," one of Finicum's 11 children tells the Oregonian. During his regular radio broadcast Monday, Finicum ominously announced that "the federal government is beating the war drums," according to the Post. He's now being treated as a martyr. “There are things more important than your life—and freedom is one of them,” he told MSNBC on Jan. 5. “I’m prepared to defend freedom."
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SHOWING 3 OF 179 COMMENTS
kumatose
21 minutes ago
When you live by the gun you're more likely to die by the gun... ...especially if you choose to be a criminal with it.
Jay R.
57 minutes ago
NO REASON for this guy to be dead......This whole thing is total bullshit! They are in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere.....Why is this even an issue?? How about we concentrate on the muslim/islamic scum, trying to invade our country, and take away our freedoms...or is that none of my business.
trailmix
1 hour, 15 minutes ago
What a bunch of bullshit, these nutbags, want this government land for their use, so they can Hunt, Fish and graze their cattle on land that was set aside for all Americans to visit and enjoy the beauty of nature. If these nutbags had their way all of the Animals would be killed and the land would be stomped over from cattle. PRESERVE THE RESERVE
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