Oregon militia's behavior increasingly brazen as public property destroyed

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Oregon militia's behavior increasingly brazen as public property destroyed

Sam Levin in Burns, Oregon
@SamTLevin
Saturday 16 January 2016 22.39 GMT Last modified on Saturday 16 January 2016 22.59 GMT

The militiamen occupying a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon have adopted increasingly bold and risky tactics in their protest against the federal government, raising questions about how long law enforcement officials can allow the standoff to continue.

Now entering their third week of occupying the Malheur national wildlife refuge in rural Harney County, leaders of the militia appear to be testing the patience of the local sheriff’s department and the FBI by brazenly commandeering and in some cases destroying public property while escalating their anti-government rhetoric.

Community leaders and government officials in Oregon and beyond say they fear there could be major damage at the refuge and elevated safety risks for employees and local residents if the militia continues to stand its ground, seemingly emboldened by the continuing lack of consequences.

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On Friday evening, Rodrique said she was horrified to learn that the militia, led by Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy, had paved a road through part of the wildlife sanctuary. That move came days after occupiers destroyed part of a US Fish and Wildlife Service fence, to allow cattle to freely graze on public lands the federal government controls.

Militiamen have also removed cameras at the refuge they claim the FBI was using for “surveillance”. LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher and one of the main spokesmen for the militia, showed up to a Saturday morning press conference carrying a basket filled with black cameras.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/16/oregon-militias-behavior-increasingly-brazen-as-public-property-destroyed

[niyad]

1. they are taunting the feds, and getting away with it.

[Rex]

2. Clearly they have not broken enough big laws to warrant force by LEOs.

As opposed to selling loose cigs on the street corner...THAT will get you murdered by LEO! Literally!

[restorefreedom]

23. fricken A right.

that gif of cruz on the tricycle always gets me...lol!

[underpants]

3. This (at link on story) was the first pic I'd seen of the paved road

Where/how did they get the materials and machinery?

[Wellstone ruled]

4. Excape route out the back door.

Well,if the Feds do not think they have anything to charge these guys with,well then we some serious changes at the Dept of Justice. When you shoot Black and brown people for stupid reasons you are setting yourself up for a bad scenario.

[pinboy3niner]

6. They're using the refuge's vehicles and heavy equipment

Their new road was made using a government bulldozer.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. Who's going to stop them?

Law enforcement is impotent

[JEB]

7. Where is law enforcement?

Citizen gorilla action will be coming soon against these posers.

[Mister Ed]

19. I hope they're won't be citizen guerilla action against them. Could be messy.

But I admit I would pay good money to watch citizen gorilla action against them.

[DetlefK]

8. Oh, I am so looking forward to the FBI press-conference when this is over.

[MH1]

9. I am so tired of these jerkwads.

No, I don't know the answer to how this should be handled, but I expect the professionals to get this solved.

Just like at my job when something isn't working right in my area of responsibility, it is my job to figure out how to fix it, and get it done.

[Initech]

13. I'd like to see this end with them in handcuffs, escorted to Supermax.

[KT2000]

10. lovely work on the road

they have no respect, just mental illness to guide them.
I see a future where armed people will be taking over federal lands for their own idiocy and committing destruction just as these idiots are doing.

[csziggy]

11. Mass surveillance? Those cameras were probably to watch wildlife

From the link in the OP - “Do you not get tired of the mass surveillance in this country?” Finicum told reporters. “This, in my opinion, is unreasonable search.”

What the hell else would cameras be watching out there in the middle of nowhere? If the FBI put them up it would have been AFTER these idiots had taken over the refuge office - how could the FBI have done so without them seeing?

I'm more than tired of hearing about these terrorists destroying the property that we the people of the US have chosen to set aside for wildlife. When are the feds going to kick their sorry asses off OUR LAND?

[ebayfool]

15. The cameras belonged to a local electric utility co-op ...

http://www.harneyelectric.org/content/about-harney-electric-cooperative

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Devices) are used by, in part, electric companies to monitor sub-stations, and to alert and assist in detecting the problem when there is a power outage. When they're aimed at a sub-station, it is to monitor and or protect against an infrastructure attack, or identify those who have attacked the sub-station. And it's to give electric companies the ability to put eyes on any problem that can be seen with the cameras.

[catnhatnh]

12. That road does not seem "paved"

More likely they just plowed a path. Actual paving requires laying down a bed of sand and gravel, then compacting those and bringing in hot asphalt...

Words have meanings and a paved road is very different from an unimproved dirt track...

[MH1]

16. Why is the "dirt" black?

It looks to me like some asphalt was badly laid down. The picture isn't clear but the part where people are walking is much darker (black to my eye) than the part in the foreground, which appears that it wasn't part of the "paving". It looks uneven and crumbly. But I have seen crappy paving jobs like that where the road is privately owned and the owners don't want to shell out for a decent job, just enough to keep the road passable.

If ANY work was done - even "they just plowed a path" - it is destruction of part of the refuge.

The charges keep piling up. I sure hope some level of government actually prosecutes these shitheads.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. Do they still put used oil on dirt roads? To keep the dust down? nt

[underahedgerow]

14. It's a dirt road, not paved. Some cattle will cause short term damage, but it's not

terribly serious, especially in winter.

As long as the twits have internet and mobile phones, the authorities can see and hear pretty much everything they're doing.

No need to panic, they'll shoot each other and it will all be fine.

[MH1]

17. It's destruction of habitat in a wildlife refuge.

It might be less serious in winter but it is not such "short-term damage", and these fuckwads have no right to do any of it.

Who knows what they plowed? They may have destroyed nests of challenged bird species or other wildlife. There's a reason you don't just go putting roads wherever in a refuge.

[Vinca]

18. I'm beyond furious over this whole thing.

The whole lot of these "patriots" need to be sent to the human refuge. The one with bars. I don't understand the point in letting this go on, especially since they aren't blocking travel in and out.

[underahedgerow]

21. This isn't being let go or forgotten. It's just not that serious. Yes, they're doing some minor

damage, causing some minor problems, but they're just defeating themselves. Patience is the key, waiting them out over the harsh winter to come is going to be pretty funny.

I don't see the point in getting all worked up over it. Justice will come to them eventually and the longer they play their little games, the more charges rack up each and every day. They won't escape the long arm of the law. What they're doing is a lot more than just tax and fees evasion like the bundy bunch. Remember, they are doiing this stupid shit in protest of guys who got successfully prosecuted.

Getting angry solves nothing.

[Vinca]

26. I wished I shared your optimism that some sort of charges will ensue.

Most people assumed the Bundy ranch would have been seized by now for failure to pay back grazing fees, but of course nothing has happened with that situation either. There are 2 kinds of justice in this country: black justice and white justice. And it's never been more apparent.

[underahedgerow]

22. Birds don't nest in the winter. That's a migratory area in the middle of

effing nowhere. The roads are just dirt paths that, left alone for more than a few weeks come spring will just grow over and disappear.

Why speculate to the point of hysteria?

You're right, they have no right to do it. But every single thing they do racks up more and more criminal charges, lengthening their prison sentences and raising their legal bills.

It's all going to be just fine. Just breathe.

[Bettie]

24. They will not be charged

these types are never charged, never see a single consequence for their behavior.

Old man Bundy still grazes his cattle for free on land that isn't his and still has not paid one dime of his fees. His people pointed guns at Federal agents who are only still alive because they backed down.

These guys now own whatever they choose to take because they are allowed to.

They will take more and more and the only thing we'll hear is "well, we don't' want another Ruby Ridge or Waco" and then they'll take more and we'll get more of the same until they get their wish for a weird Mormon nation carved out of the US, all becasue negotiating with terrorists is suddenly OK, as long as they are white and male.

[underahedgerow]

25. Never? You're forgetting why the nitwits are there to begin with?

Their buddies just checked themselves into jail for arson, for burning federal lands.

You need to calm down and trust that things will work out just fine.

Bundy is facing the loss of all his lands. With the millions in liens against his property, his heirs will be left with absolutely nothing, and all his land will revert back to publicly owned land. Get it?

It's all going to be just fine.

Speculation and hysteria result in absolutely nothing.

[phantom power]

27. I'm baffled by people who seem to be Bundy-Gang apologists

"It's not that bad." "Well, there's no birds nesting there right now."

Really? Seriously? WTF?

[Rex]

28. I've learned a lot about people since the illegal takeover.

Funny thing, same people use to play down Bush's invasion of Iraq...gee, I wonder why?

[Bettie]

29. They'll be charged...some day

Yeah, sure they will.

But it goes to show that when white men carry guns it makes others feel sorry for their tiny little feelings.