Militia Takes Over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

[GreenGoo]

Apparently ISIS isn't the only option for people inclined to random acts of crazy.

[Holman]

Well here's news:
Ammon Bundy and three others have been arrested; shots fired.

HARNEY COUNTY, Ore. — KATU News has learned the leader of the armed occupation at Malheur Wildlife Refuge - Ammon Bundy - has been arrested, along with three other individuals Tuesday evening.

Officials said it all began with a traffic stop while Bundy and some of his followers were en route to a community meeting in John Day, about 70 miles away.

Shots were fired after FBI agents, Oregon State troopers and other law enforcement agencies made the stop. CNN reports its unclear who fired first.

Details of the arrest remain unknown, but charges are pending related to the group's 25-day takeover of the wildlife refuge.

[Enough]

Reports now one dead and one in the hospital. Both Amons were among six arrested. It all went down at a traffic stop, this almost seems like that was the fed's strategy to get them. Apparently they were on the way to that meeting in Grant County with the sheriff that thinks it would be a "good first step" to release the Hammonds. Will be interested to see how the remaining supporters not arrested react to the loss of their leader.

[Enough]

Now looks like it may be Lavoy Finicum aka blue tarp man who died. This is still unconfirmed.

Edit:

State Rep. Michele Fiore (R-Nevada), who is close to the Bundy family and other militants, has identified Finicum as the militant who has been reportedly killed.

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

[Enough]

Now hearing that Pete Santilli (crazy youtube live-streamer dude, someone else is still streaming) was also arrested and Blaine Cooper is preparing for a hard stand at the refuge. This may still not be over.

Edit:

Occupier Jason Patrick at the refuge: We’re all standing here ready to defend our peaceful resolution.

[Skinypupy]

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

Of course they are.

I'm mostly just irritated that the Feds ultimately ended up giving the Yeehawdists exactly what they wanted...a shootout at the Flaming Dildo Corral.

[Enough]

Multiple large convoys of vehicles on the move in the vicinity of the refuge as of a few minutes ago. I sure hope the children are out of the refuge by now.

[Canuck]

Now looks like it may be Lavoy Finicum aka blue tarp man who died. This is still unconfirmed.

Edit:

State Rep. Michele Fiore (R-Nevada), who is close to the Bundy family and other militants, has identified Finicum as the militant who has been reportedly killed.

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

#militantlivesmatter

[Enough]

Militia dude inside the refuge is live streaming right now talking about how he is off on his way to die. Ugh.

[$iljanus]

Militia dude inside the refuge is live streaming right now talking about how he is off on his way to die. Ugh.

Wow these militia types are so emo.

[Skinypupy]

Looks like Jon Ritzheimer (he of the infamous "Stop sending us dildos!" video) was also arrested in Arizona yesterday. Interesting that he wasn't up there with the rest of them.

[Isgrimnur]

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

Of course they are.

I'm mostly just irritated that the Feds ultimately ended up giving the Yeehawdists exactly what they wanted...a shootout at the Flaming Dildo Corral.

Seeing as they're not assaulting the compound, but picking them up when they leave, they're not giving them a Ruby Ridge situation. If they want to stay at the compound and starve to death, they're still more than welcome to do so. But when you make a run for Wally World, don't be surprised when you pick up a tail.

[El Guapo]

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

Of course they are.

I'm mostly just irritated that the Feds ultimately ended up giving the Yeehawdists exactly what they wanted...a shootout at the Flaming Dildo Corral.

Seeing as they're not assaulting the compound, but picking them up when they leave, they're not giving them a Ruby Ridge situation. If they want to stay at the compound and starve to death, they're still more than welcome to do so. But when you make a run for Wally World, don't be surprised when you pick up a tail.

Also, unless you're not planning on arresting them at any point, you're going to have to risk a shoot-out sooner or later.

This isn't the Alamo last stand that the militants were hoping for, in any event.

[Enough]

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, the spokesman of the refuge occupation, was shot and killed after he charged police during a roadside stop north of Burns on Tuesday, according to a man on Facebook who claims to be the driver of one of two vehicles involved in the highway shooting.

[Jaymann]

Sure, but he charged them with his hands up.

[Smoove_B]

What's the over/under that Finicum had some type of terminal disease diagnosis and decided it was better to whoop it up one last time rather than eventually waste away in a bed somewhere.

[Enough]

I dunno, but on their live stream they are currently planning pooping breaks while casually discussing how they know "it's coming."

[Enough]

Live presser coming up in a few minutes.

[Alefroth]

Now looks like it may be Lavoy Finicum aka blue tarp man who died. This is still unconfirmed.

Edit:

State Rep. Michele Fiore (R-Nevada), who is close to the Bundy family and other militants, has identified Finicum as the militant who has been reportedly killed.

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

#militantlivesmatter

#yalllivesmatter

[LordMortis]

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

Of course they are.

I'm mostly just irritated that the Feds ultimately ended up giving the Yeehawdists exactly what they wanted...a shootout at the Flaming Dildo Corral.

Seeing as they're not assaulting the compound, but picking them up when they leave, they're not giving them a Ruby Ridge situation. If they want to stay at the compound and starve to death, they're still more than welcome to do so. But when you make a run for Wally World, don't be surprised when you pick up a tail.

Also, unless you're not planning on arresting them at any point, you're going to have to risk a shoot-out sooner or later.

This isn't the Alamo last stand that the militants were hoping for, in any event.

I still don't know the details and while no deaths are a good thing, I am kinda happy with the way the federal authorities have worked this out. That's something I don't seem to say too often.

[Jaymann]

I dunno, but on their live stream they are currently planning pooping breaks while casually discussing how they know "it's coming."

When they strap the dildo on?

[Pyperkub]

Now looks like it may be Lavoy Finicum aka blue tarp man who died. This is still unconfirmed.

Edit:

State Rep. Michele Fiore (R-Nevada), who is close to the Bundy family and other militants, has identified Finicum as the militant who has been reportedly killed.

She and the militants are claiming he had his hands up.

#militantlivesmatter

Not according to eyewitnesses:

State Rep. Michele Fiore (R-Nevada) and the “Bundy Ranch” Facebook page shared similar accounts of Finicum’s fatal shooting, each claiming the rancher had been shot with his hands up while his friends were arrested...

...But that’s not what happened, according to the eyewitnesses — who each posted their first-hand accounts in Facebook videos...

...McConnell — who was taken into custody, questioned and released — recorded a second video early Wednesday morning, saying that Payne told him that he and Finicum got into an argument in the pickup after the rancher fled the police stop.

He said Cox told him that Finicum crashed into the snowbank, jumped out of the manual transmission diesel pickup with the rear wheels still spinning and charged toward law enforcement officers.

The bodyguard said Cox and Payne each told him that Finicum charged toward officers before he was shot, and he explicitly denied that the rancher had surrendered or complied with law enforcement.

“He was not on his knees, none of that,” McConnell said. “He was none of that nonsense. You know, that was a miscommunication on somebody else’s part. But he went after them. He charged them. You know, LaVoy was very passionate about what he was doing up here.”

[Rip]

But was he armed?

Not that it matters to me but that seems to be a major debate point every time the cops shoot someone.

[Holman]

The official account seems to be that he tried to flee the scene of the arrest, but his truck got stuck and he emerged pointing a weapon at officers, possibly shooting first.

Incidentally, the complaint against the militia types has been unsealed, and it contains details I hadn't heard before, including a pattern of in-person threats and intimidation against BLM employees in the weeks leading up to the occupation. They also had explosives and night-vision gear, and appeared to be making plans to trap and ambush police and Feds. The new leader (after Ammon B's arrest) was himself arrested yesterday.

In addition to the wannabe domestic terrorist Jon Ritzheimer, right-wing conspiracy radio host Pete Santilli (who had "embedded" himself with the militia) were among those first arrested.

All these Yahoos are going to lose their firearms not because of Obama but because of their own violent threats and fantastic dumbassery.

[Moliere]

Ammon Bundy: "Please stand down. Go home and hug your families. This fight is now in the courts."

[El Guapo]

But was he armed?

Not that it matters to me but that seems to be a major debate point every time the cops shoot someone.

Such a weird question for people to ask in connection with police shootings. And yes, of course that's relevant here to whether the police acted reasonably.

[Carpet_pissr]

I still can't picture someone named LaVoy Finicum saying "y'all". Maybe they had club names, because that definitely sounds made up.

[LordMortis]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej ... story.html

Oregon standoff: Final 5 say they will leave if the FBI agrees not to arrest them

“We’re asking them just to just drop the charges and we’re willing to go -- and nobody dies,” David Fry, a 27-year-old from Ohio who has been posting live videos from the refuge on YouTube, said in a brief broadcast overnight. “But if they’re not willing to do that, we’re all just kind of willing to stay here.”

Picture that with any other failed armed resistance (much less one lasting weeks) for any reason ever.

[GreenGoo]

But was he armed?

Not that it matters to me but that seems to be a major debate point every time the cops shoot someone.

Such a weird question for people to ask in connection with police shootings. And yes, of course that's relevant here to whether the police acted reasonably.

I don't disagree, but I'd say when you publicly announce you're part of an armed occupation, I don't think it's unreasonable for police to assume you're armed, even if they don't see a weapon. Which is not the same as saying the deadly force has to be the first response, but the question becomes less "is he armed" and more "is he about the use the weapon that I can reasonably assume he has".

[El Guapo]

But was he armed?

Not that it matters to me but that seems to be a major debate point every time the cops shoot someone.

Such a weird question for people to ask in connection with police shootings. And yes, of course that's relevant here to whether the police acted reasonably.

I don't disagree, but I'd say when you publicly announce you're part of an armed occupation, I don't think it's unreasonable for police to assume you're armed, even if they don't see a weapon. Which is not the same as saying the deadly force has to be the first response, but the question becomes less "is he armed" and more "is he about the use the weapon that I can reasonably assume he has".

Sure. The key question is whether the police reasonably believe that a suspect in a particular is armed / might shoot, and that seems relevant to that determination here.

[Exodor]

CNN claims he reached for his gun

The FBI and state police teams knew the route they were going to take. They picked a spot away from populated areas to attempt a traffic stop. One vehicle stopped on command from authorities. The second, allegedly driven by LaVoy Finicum, took off at high speed, attempting to get away.

About a mile away, out of sight, the FBI and state police had set up a roadblock.

But Finicum, with police in hot pursuit, attempted to leave the main road and drove into a snow bank. When he emerged from the vehicle, FBI and state police ordered him to surrender. That's when, authorities say, Finicum reached down toward his waistband where he had a gun.

The SWAT team opened fire. Finicum was killed. Ryan Bundy suffered a light wound on his arm.

The shooting was captured on camera by the SWAT team. FBI and Oregon police officials are discussing possibly releasing the video, in part to counter claims by supporters that Finicum was gunned down while trying to surrender.

I think they almost have to release that video if they want to stop the conspiracy theories.

[El Guapo]

I think they almost have to release that video if they want to stop the conspiracy theories.

Yes, facts and evidence definitely stop conspiracy theories from running wild.

[LawBeefaroni]

I think they almost have to release that video if they want to stop the conspiracy theories.

I shudder to think what viral edits/mashups will come from that video.

[Moliere]

Has no one claimed yet that this whole Oregon standoff is a false flag operation run by the government to...

[Isgrimnur]

Right Wing Watch

Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers isn’t the only “Patriot” movement leader slamming the armed militia takeover of a federal building in Oregon. Mike Vanderboegh, the leader of the Three Percenters militia group, wrote on his blog yesterday that the group in Oregon, which is being led by sons of rancher Cliven Bundy, is full of “sociopaths and idiots” and probably includes some who are working for the government.

Nevertheless, Vanderboegh, who warned at the Bundy ranch that the standoff could lead to “civil war on a vast scale” and more recently warned that a new Oregon gun buyers’ background check law could also lead to a civil war, wrote that if the federal government ends the Oregon standoff with force, he will have no choice but to join the Bundys in — you guessed it — a civil war.

In a statement published on his blog, Sipsey Street Irregulars, yesterday, Vanderboegh called the leaders of the Oregon takeover “federal provocateurs, sociopaths and idiots with a John Brown complex” and said that there are “far fewer than is claimed” occupying the building, adding that they have “written a check that they expect the rest of us to cash in our own blood in a ghastly civil war.”

Implying that some on the inside are secretly working for the government to set up a “perfect propaganda opportunity,” and that some are simply setting themselves up to commit “suicide by Fed,” Vanderboegh wrote that nevertheless “we must get across to the Feds that if they do not end this peacefully, if they go for a dynamic raid that gets people killed, that they will start a national conflagration that will be fought using the principles of Fourth Generation Warfare as adapted to an American civil war.”

In an earlier blog post, he quoted a member of his group on the ground at the scene: “The stupid has gone so far that I don't know if it can come back. These f-cking morons have no idea what they've done.”

[RunningMn9]

Do these people understand how absurdly ridiculous their idiotic civil war talk is? How many people do they really think are going to flock to Oregon, quitting their jobs, to start a war because these assholes invaded a wildlife refuge illegally?

[LordMortis]

Do these people understand how absurdly ridiculous their idiotic civil war talk is? How many people do they really think are going to flock to Oregon, quitting their jobs, to start a war because these assholes invaded a wildlife refuge illegally?

Isis did it!

Wolverines!

[Smoove_B]

One of the things I learned yesterday during the live feed (seriously, I had no idea) is that these guys self-identify as "3%ers" -- you can sometimes see it on a patch or a belt buckle, usually with a "III" on it. They believe that the American Revolution was possible because 3% of the colonial citizens were able to take up arms and fight back. Subsequently, all they need in modern 'merica is 3% of the population willing to take up arms (or snacks) and fight back against THE MAN. So yes, they do believe just a select few will be able to usher the rest of us into a place where we can all own a dildo-burning barrel.

[El Guapo]

One of the things I learned yesterday during the live feed (seriously, I had no idea) is that these guys self-identify as "3%ers" -- you can sometimes see it on a patch or a belt buckle, usually with a "III" on it. They believe that the American Revolution was possible because 3% of the colonial citizens were able to take up arms and fight back. Subsequently, all they need in modern 'merica is 3% of the population willing to take up arms (or snacks) and fight back against THE MAN. So yes, they do believe just a select few will be able to usher the rest of us into a place where we can all own a dildo-burning barrel.

Does the extended patch say "3%, plus fairly decisive monetary and direct military support from France"? Maybe something like "3% + France"?

[RunningMn9]

One of the things I learned yesterday during the live feed (seriously, I had no idea) is that these guys self-identify as "3%ers" -- you can sometimes see it on a patch or a belt buckle, usually with a "III" on it. They believe that the American Revolution was possible because 3% of the colonial citizens were able to take up arms and fight back. Subsequently, all they need in modern 'merica is 3% of the population willing to take up arms (or snacks) and fight back against THE MAN. So yes, they do believe just a select few will be able to usher the rest of us into a place where we can all own a dildo-burning barrel.

In fairness, if just over 9 million heavily armed 'Mericans took up arms (and snacks), they would present a *serious* problem for THE MAN. There aren't 9 million heavily armed 'Mericans that are going to take up arms (but possibly snacks), because these idiots decided to illegally take over a wildlife refuge.