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Ammon Bundy, the leader of an anti-government militia, talks with supporters in front of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
The federal government's 32-page criminal complaint<span style="color: Red;">*</span>against Ammon Bundy and followers who holed up at a wildlife refuge in Burns, Oregon, beginning on Jan. 2 says the protesters at times called on the public to bring arms to the site, and at other times threatened community members.
On Tuesday, Bundy and 7 others were arrested during a traffic stop, and protester Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, was shot and killed.
The complaint signed by FBI special agent Katherine Armstrong<span style="color: Red;">*</span>includes recounts of press conferences broadcast on the Internet and details of the suspects' backgrounds. It names occupation ringleader Ammon Bundy,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>along with Jon Ritzheimer, Joseph O'Shaughnessy, Ryan Payne, Ryan Bundy, Brian Cavalier, Shawna Cox and self-styled journalist Peter Santilli.
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The complaint charges<span style="color: Red;">*</span>all of them with felony<span style="color: Red;">*</span>conspiracy to impede federal officers from discharging official duties through use of force, intimidation or threats. It also charges the group that occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with working together to "control federal property while refusing to leave,intending to impede and prevent by force" federal officials, the complaint reads.
The group was well-armed too, according to the document.
The federal Bureau of Land Management " ... was notified ... by a Harney County (Oregon) Sheriff's Officer that a source informed him that the group controlled the MNWR and had explosives, night vision goggles, and weapons and that if they didn't get the fight they wanted out there they would bring the fight to town," the complaint reads.
On June 6, 2012, brothers Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of arson. In 2014, the federal government won an appeal of their sentences. Before surrendering on Jan. 4 to serve their mandatory five-year prison terms, the brothers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"continued to distance themselves" from Bundy and the rest, the complaint reads.
On Oct. 15, Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne went to visit Harney County, Oregon, Sheriff Dave Ward and told him that he needed to protect the Hammonds from returning to prison and warned him of "extreme civil unrest" otherwise, according to the complaint.
The complaint charges Ritzheimer and one other man with threatening a woman at a grocery store in Burns, Oregon, on Dec. 18. The woman wore a T-shirt that read BLM, which stands for federal Bureau of Land Management, and the person with Ritzheimer shouted, "You're BLM. You're BLM," according to the complaint. The person with Ritzheimer told the woman he knows what kind of car she drives and he was going to follow her home and burn her house down, according to the complaint.
After a Jan. 2 protest in Burns related to the resentencing of the Hammonds brothers, Ammon Bundy and several others mentioned in the complaint entered the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and began their armed occupation of the site. The refuge is being "degraded and damaged" as a result of the occupation, according to the document.
On Jan. 3, video posted on a website put together by The Conspiracy Scope showed Bundy saying, "We're planning on staying here for several years," according to the complaint. In the video, Bundy calls on people to bring their arms to the refuge, the complaint indicates.
Pete Santilli, who runs a show on YouTube called "The Pete Santilli Show" and often posted video related to the Hammonds, has identified himself as a member of the Oath Keepers and the III% groups, which are associated with the "anti-government patriot movement," the complaint reads.
The seven defendants appeared before<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Judge Stacie Beckerman in U.S. District Court in Portland for their initial hearings.
Each defendant's time before the judge followed a similar pattern.
None of the defendants or their lawyers had time to review the 31-page complaint before court because it wasn't unsealed by Beckerman until the start of the proceedings. The majority of evidence used in the complaint is from the internet — media reports, their own social media accounts and blogs and videos associated with them. No information was included about the Tuesday evening arrests on a stretch of Highway 395 and the shooting of LaVoy<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Finicum.
Every defendant but Ryan Bundy requested time to partially<span style="color: Red;">*</span>review the complaint in court. They were told they'd also have the ability to review it while in custody.
Every defendant — except for Ammon Bundy — had the court appoint<span style="color: Red;">*</span>counsel during the proceedings. Bundy had already retained lawyers from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Arnold Law, which has Eugene and Portland offices.
The prosecution asked at the beginning of the proceedings to delay the detention hearing, when the judge would rule whether bail would be set, until Friday.
Prosecutor Ethan Knight said the government believes that due to the dynamic and ongoing nature of the Malheur occupation, detention hearings should take place Friday so all parties have time to gather more information.
Lawyers for O'Shaughnessy, Cox and Santilli cited the defendants' lack of or minimal criminal history during the proceedings.
Only Ryan Payne's attorney, Lisa Hay, argued that the government didn't meet its burden to delay the hearing.
Prosecutor Geoffrey Barrow argued that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Payne represents a serious risk of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fleeing back to the refuge where he would<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"bunker in." Barrow said that since Payne repeatedly professed his disregard for the federal government's authority, he didn't think Payne would abide by conditions set by the federal court.
Hay said such an argument is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>using Payne's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>political speech against him. The argument he should be detained because he would likely<span style="color: Red;">*</span>disregard the federal government's conditions is "the worst kind of argument the government can make."
Santilli's lawyer, Tom Cohen, said Santilli is an "independent press agent" using his First Amendment rights. Cohen said the complaint accurately stated that Santilli put out a call of action for unarmed patriots to join the occupation, but no violence was suggested.
Beckerman ruled to delay all detention hearings until Friday due to the nature of the charges, the roles and the defendants' lack of ties to the state.
Contributing:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Kaellen Hessel, the Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal
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