A group of around a dozen armed men have taken over a remote federal building on a wildlife reserve in Oregon as part of a protest against government "tyranny", demanding that the land be handed over to local ranchers.

Member of the group Ryan Bundy talking about the US constitution in a YouTube video from April 2014

Despite the fact that a few of the actors have carried out similar actions over land use before, they appear not to have planned this stand-off in the snowy, desolate area very well.

The group have vowed to stay in the building "as long as it takes" and have said they are not afraid to kill or be killed if law enforcement tries to remove them.

The internet has been quick to deride the group as 'Y'all Qaeda', pointing out their actions bear the hallmarks of domestic terrorism, although many media sources aren't calling it that:

The group aren't exactly defending their cause from ridicule. It has emerged that before the group even got to the site, one of their number put out a call on Facebook for "supplies and snacks":