By SAVANNAH TILLMAN
Student Reporter
Standoff leads to one dead and eight more behind bars.
The prosecution of two local ranchers near Burns, Oregon, Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, has sent the state and other parts of the west into an anti-government frenzy. For nearly a month now, individuals in the ranching community as well of members of the Bundy ranch from Arizona, have stood in protest at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge against police, FBI, and other governmental officials.
Lavoy Finicum was shot and killed by FBI on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 according to Fox News. Eight other protestors, including the Bundy brothers, were arrested on the same day and face felony charges. Jason Patrick, one of the remaining protestors, told Reuters, “I’ve heard ‘peaceful resolutions’ for weeks now and now there is a cowboy, who is my friend, who is dead- so now prepare for the peaceful resolution.”
Re-sentencing of Dwight and Steven Hammond, on charges of Larsen and Terrorism, have caused inviduals to join together and protest these heinous prosecution terms.
Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven Bundy who was in an armed standoff with the federal government back in 2014, tells interviewers that the facility at the Refuge is nothing but an unjust control of the federal government on this land. Bundy has led the militia movement to fight for the Hammonds and for ranchers everywhere. How does Bundy go from an Arizona business man to helping a family he has never met? “God told him the cause was righteous.” Bundy said.
Other supporters are backing the Hammonds and Bundy’s. “The government is taking everything from these ranchers in Oregon just like they did in Arizona. This will continue to happen until we make a stand as one people and fight back,” said Mark Henry, a volunteer firefighter and gas plant operator in Beaver, Okla.
There have even been political debates over the real reason why the government wants to obtain this land. According to Dutchsinse, there are precious minerals like Uranium in the Hammonds and Bundy’s land. This is why these two separate incidences are linked and not just a coincidence. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpkm6iSd–c to watch the full video and other links tied to the Oregon and Arizona standoff.
There was an article posted on TheConservativeTreeHouse.com that gave a full backstory on what led to these events happening right now. In order to fully understand the situation the Hammonds have went through go to http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/01/03/full-story-on-whats-going-on-in-oregon-militia-take-over-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge-in-protest-to-hammond-family-persecution/ . In an overview of the article, the Hammonds purchased their ranch in 1964, which consisted of 6000 acres of private property, four grazing rights on public land, a small ranch house, and three water rights. Throughout the next forty odd years, U.S Fish and Wildlife Services, or FWS, and the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, have tried numerous times to get the land from the Hammonds.
In the 1970s, most ranchers who resided near the Refuge where bought out. The BLM told ranchers “grazing was detrimental to wildlife and it must be reduced.” The ranchers who stayed were forced to pay higher grazing fees.
Flooding of the Silvies Plains, near the Refuge, came about in the 1980s. The Refuge personnel intentially diverted water to the Malheur Lakes. Thirty-one ranchers land and homes were flooded and drove the people to beg FWS to acquire their “useless ranches.”
By the 1990s, the Hammonds were one of the few ranchers who still owned private property adjacent to the Refuge. During that time, they were the main targets by the BLM and FWS.
In fall 2001, the Hammonds performed a routine burn on their ranch; however, the fire spread, burning 130 acres of grass on the Refuge. They were able to put the fire out without any more damage.
Five years later, in 2006, a massive lightning storm hit, causing multiple fires in and around the Refuge. Preventing all of their land and home from going up in a blaze, Steven Hammond started a backfire on their land. It worked and within a short period of time, the fires were out. They were soon arrested and accused of starting the fires in 2001 and 2006.
On June 22, 2012, Dwight and Steven Hammond were found guilty of Terrorism under the 1996 Anti-Terrorism Act and Larsen. Dwight was sentenced to three months and Steven sentenced to twelve in a federal prison. They were also forced to pay $400,000 to BLM.
After serving their sentenced time they were released; however, not for long. In October 2015, the District 9 Court “re-sentenced” them both to return to prison and serve the entire five year sentence for Terrorism. They were ordered to report to prison on January 4, 2016, which was two days after the standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge began.