Former occupiers claim images of refuge damage 'staged'

[struggle4progress]

by KATU News

... former members of the .. occupation are saying photos of damage .. at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge are propaganda.

The images were released last week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service showing piles of garbage, property damage and what appears to be human waste ...

"I'm here to tell you, it's not true. They were very serious about taking good care of that property," said Guy Finicum, who visited his brother LaVoy back in January ...

http://keprtv.com/news/nation-world/former-occupiers-claim-images-of-refuge-damage-staged

[struggle4progress]

1. Malheur Refuge occupier: ‘Everything was clean’

KOIN 6 News Staff
Published: March 30, 2016, 12:45 pm
Updated: March 30, 2016, 5:43 pm

... former occupier Sharla Christie said the pictures were embellished and the cost inflated.

“They were very serious about taking good care of that property,” Christie said at a news conference in Arizona. “Every thing was clean. I didn’t see any damage whatsoever” ...

http://koin.com/2016/03/30/malheur-refuge-occupier-everything-was-clean/

[PSPS]

2. Of course it was! Just like the moon landing!!1!1!

[struggle4progress]

3. This is coordinated: these folk apparently held four simultaneous press conferences

in four different states, and some of what was said seems to be word-for-word the same

[struggle4progress]

4. Malheur occupation defenders question photos, damage estimates

By Scott Hammers / The Bulletin
Published Mar 30, 2016 at 12:03AM

A former Harney County fire official and a Redmond resident who participated in the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday questioned the photos used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to illustrate the damage allegedly done to the facility during the occupation.

They held a press conference in Bend at the same time as similar events in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Fredonia, Arizona. An announcement of the press conferences provided to The Bulletin promised “photos, footage and facts, along with testimonies to show government neglect, corruption, collusion, and intentional FBI destruction of property.”

Former Burns Fire Chief Chris Briels and Redmond resident BJ Soper appeared in front of the Deschutes County Courthouse on Tuesday. They did not present any new photos of video footage of the wildlife reserve, but instead pointed to photos that had been previously shared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to illustrate damage caused during the occupation, and argued that many of them had in fact been taken during the occupation to show the poor condition facilities were in when occupiers arrived ...

http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/4170824-151/malheur-occupation-defenders-question-photos-damage-estimates

[struggle4progress]

5. Questions over cost of damage at Oregon Refuge

BY CHRISTY WILCOX
TUESDAY, MARCH 29TH 2016

Tuesday afternoon eyewitnesses in four different states -- Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Oregon -- stepped up to say they do not feel the federal government's assessment of damage is accurate.

Two of those eyewitnesses, Nevada State Assembly Member John Moore and Shelly Shelton spoke at the Las Vegas Federal Courthouse Tuesday afternoon ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service responded to an inquiry by News3 with the information about the estimated cost:

"The $6 million cost estimate encompasses a range of costs associated with the armed takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. To date - there are approximately $2 million in direct costs. The armed takeover required a variety of staff from across the country to provide support for Malheur during and after the occupation - including paying the costs to relocate the 17 employees and their families who had to be moved due to ongoing concerns for their safety. The Service's law enforcement response and support during and after the occupation to ensure the public and employee safety at National Wildlife Refuges across the West has cost approximately $2.25 million to date. $1.7 million is the estimated cost for repairs and restoration at the Refuge. These numbers are preliminary and will change as the Service continues to assess damages, identify missing items, and restore the Refuge. There are also costs to which it is difficult to assign a dollar value - the loss of conservation opportunities that have set back work at the Refuge, in some cases by years. And there are costs that cannot be calculated - the very real emotional cost to the community in Harney County, the employees of the Refuge, and the Burns-Pauite Tribe, whose cultural artifacts were desecrated by the armed occupiers" ...

http://news3lv.com/news/local/questions-over-cost-of-damage-at-oregon-refuge

[dhill926]

6. yeah, right....

assholes...

[struggle4progress]

9. +

[struggle4progress]

7. Group says government is lying about damage to Oregon wildlife refuge

BY CHRIS MILLER AND ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUESDAY, MARCH 29TH 2016

A group on the steps of the Utah Captiol Tuesday said that the federal government is trying to deceive Americans with claims those at the standoff in the Oregon wildlife refuge damaged it ...

Janalee Tobias, an outspoken gun rights activist, said she joined the Oregon occupation group early in January ...

Tobias, along with the family of Lavoy Finicum, slain by police during the standoff, are disputing claims of the federal government that the group destroyed federal property during the occupation ...

http://kutv.com/news/local/group-says-government-is-laying-about-damage-to-oregon-wildlife-refuge

[panader0]

8. I saw that interview with Finicum.

So the feds went in and shit on the floor and punched holes in the wall, and drove the backhoe
around and left a ton of trash? Sure buddy, sure.
I'm sure it was nice at first, then got worse, especially after the arrests when there were the few holdouts.

[struggle4progress]

11. Who ya gonna b'leeve? Cliven Bundy's boys and their friends? Or th'gummint?

Th'US wuz a great country, before we had th'gummint! And Nevada wuz one a the greatest states in this great country, before we had th'gummint!

[atreides1]

10. Interesting

They came out of hiding and admitted that they participated in the occupation...how long before these people are in front of a judge facing charges?

The best way to draw arrogant people out, is to play on that arrogance!

Prior to this, I'll bet the Feds didn't have the identity of all of the occupiers, now they've identified a few more!

We'll see what happens in the next few weeks!

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. But Dooooooooooooods... you videotaped yourselves destroying...

[cheapdate]

13. Morons. Hope they charge them all for the cleanup.

[gratuitous]

14. Not interested in what these unhousebroken mofos have to say

If you don't like the pictures, then come on out to Oregon and help clean up your mess. Otherwise, it will be the rest of us - as usual - picking up after you slobs. Your track record isn't real sterling on this; the pictures tell the story; your whining will not be heard.