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[h=4]Oregon standoff: 'We will not back down'[/h]Occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge stretched into fourth day Tuesday.
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An Oregon sheriff is calling for an end to the armed takeover at a local wildlife refuge. USA TODAY
People gather as Ammon Bundy speaks with reporters at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on, Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore.(Photo: AP)
BURNS, Ore. — The armed occupation of Oregon's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Malheur National Wildlife Refuge stretched into a fourth day Tuesday with no end in sight to the conflict that started as a peaceful protest in support of two local ranchers sent to prison for setting fires on federal land.
Occupation leader<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ammon Bundy reiterated Tuesday that he and his band of about a dozen or so people won't leave until Dwight and Steven Hammond are freed from federal prison. He also wants federally owned land in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Harney County returned to the people who live here, saying<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his group was sifting through property records to find instances of federal officials seizing land from private owners.
"Thomas Paine said, It is the duty of the patriot to protect its country from its government," Bundy tweeted Tuesday. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>added:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"We will not back down."
Later Tuesday, Bundy's Twitter account was suspended.
The occupiers denied rumors that federal employees were being held at the site at gunpoint.
Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement Tuesday that the safety of residents was first and foremost to authorities.
"Although the FBI is the lead agency responding to the situation, my top priority is the safety of the people of Harney County and the City of Burns," she said. "The Oregon State Police has enhanced its presence in the area, augmenting local and federal public safety resources and assisting with community outreach. I look for a swift resolution that allows Harney County life to return to normal."
Bundy's militia — Citizens for Constitutional Freedom<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>seized<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a Bureau of Land Management bunkhouse<span style="color: Red;">*</span>amid rolling,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rocky hills dusted in snow Saturday. He claims<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Hammonds were victims of aggressive federal prosecution, part of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a land-grab government effort to expand federal lands at the expense of ranchers.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bundy, a Nevada rancher,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said his group is ready to stay for years if necessary.
Oregon criminal defense lawyer Kevin Sali says the Hammonds probably had a better constitutional<span style="color: Red;">*</span>case than Bundy's team will have when the occupation finally ends. Sali, who is not involved in the case, told USA TODAY that the federal statute used to charge the Hammonds is usually reserved for terrorism or organized crime cases. He noted that the trial judge declined to sentence the Hammonds to the mandatory five-year sentence. A federal appeals court overruled the judge, and the father-son team returned to prison Monday.
USA TODAY
Ore. ranchers at center of protest expected to report to prison
USA TODAY
Sheriff: Militia members used rancher protest as ruse
"The question is whether they should have been charged under that statute, and there is probably some merit to the argument," Sali said. "But now you have people taking over government buildings, and you are crossing the Rubicon there. It is far from clear to me that they (Bundy's group) have thought this through. This is very serious."
Schools are closed and employees who would normally be at the wildlife refuge haven't been able to return. Still,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bundy says local residents support his effort.
Debbie Johnson, a Harney County rancher, visited the refuge for a Bundy news<span style="color: Red;">*</span>conference. She agrees that government regulations are jeopardizing ranching families.
"Every year, it seems like they get a little bit tighter," she said. "It feels like we're getting pinched out."
Ladonna Baron, co-owner of Country Lane Quilts, said the occupation has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>divided the community. Some residents agree<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with the militia's tactics, or even want to join, while others think it's a farce.
"We support our community," Baron said. "We support our ranchers. Personally, I feel what happened to the Hammonds was an injustice. But the militia is here on their own agenda."
She added if there was something to tell the militia, it's "go away."
Harney County Sheriff David Ward said the "armed occupation" of the federal building isn't what Burns residents want, and the militia should disband.
'You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County," Ward said. "That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed and unlawful protest... Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully."
Burns is a town of less than 3,000 and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>just a couple stoplights. This is the Oregon where men often wear cowboy hats and carry sidearms just out of habit.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Barbara Ormond, also a co-owner of Country Lane Quilts, said her quiet, peaceful town<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has been unsettled by the possibility of violence.
"Come and visit," Ormond said. "It's a great place."
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