BURNS -- Shortly after Ammon Bundy and his armed followers took over a federal wildlife refuge, Tim Smith approached the mic at a community meeting and introduced himself as a member of the Harney County Committee of Safety.

The audience stirred. "I don't know what that is!" a man yelled, prompting an admonition from the sheriff to let Smith speak.

"I understand," said Smith, the vice chairman of the local Republican Party. "We'll get to that."

Two weeks into the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, community members and outside observers are still wondering what to make of the group of six Harney County men and women.

And the members -- four ranchers and a retired fire chief among them -- seem to be wondering the same thing even as they have become the apparent linchpin in paving the way for the protesters to leave.

Formed at Bundy's urging before the occupation, the committee has anointed his movement with an appearance of local support -- a core group of residents aligned with the protest and positioned to take up his cause.

"We're in one step of the 100-mile journey, but we're gaining momentum, thanks to the work of Ammon Bundy," said committee member Melodi Molt, a Burns businesswoman and rancher.

Still no plan for Ammon Bundy to present exit strategy

There's still no firm plan to reschedule a community meeting for Ammon Bundy to outline his plan to leave Harney County.

The meeting, organized by the Harney County Committee of Safety, was set for last Friday at the county fairgrounds. But the county government said it wouldn't allow Bundy to use its property as long as he and his followers continue their armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

The committee hasn't found a suitable alternative, said member Melodi Molt. It's considering legal action against the county, saying barring the group is a violation of its First Amendment rights.

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, a spokesman for the occupiers, had said Bundy was preparing a PowerPoint presentation for the meeting that would outline his exit strategy. He said he anticipated the meeting would be scheduled for Monday, but Molt said that's not going to happen.

-- Elliot Njus

But they didn't expect the refuge takeover and Bundy has so far ignored their pleas for him to pull out. While they've tried to arrange a public meeting for Bundy to announce his exit strategy, they haven't heard it themselves.

"We have felt betrayed by Mr. Bundy," said Chris Briels, a committee member and retired Burns fire chief, referring to the takeover. "There's a lot of stuff going on that we have absolutely no control over."

Now they're trying to figure out their role as the occupation churns into its third week at the refuge 30 miles out of town.

***

Two weeks before Bundy and about 20 like-minded militants seized the refuge, the man who has become the face of the revolt called a meeting in Burns.

Bundy was looking for supporters of a planned demonstration over longer prison sentences given to Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven.

Militia members from around the country had already arrived in town to prepare for a Jan. 2 rally on the Saturday before the Hammonds were to report to prison.

Dozens of locals showed up to listen to Bundy, many who also opposed the Hammonds' five-year sentences and were curious or concerned about the impending march.

Bundy, an Arizona businessman, had cachet -- he had helped run federal authorities off the Nevada ranch of his father, Cliven Bundy, in an armed dispute over unpaid grazing fees. The Hammonds had burned federal land and were heading back to prison to finish longer sentences for arson under a federal anti-terrorism law.

After speaking on Harney County residents' constitutional rights, Bundy explained that he wanted them to form a "Committee of Safety" that would help direct the protest. The name borrows from groups during the American Revolution called to undermine the established British government and oversee local militias.

Those gathered nominated people in the meeting audience to lead the committee. Ranchers Duane Schrock, Travis Williams and Rick Habein joined up, in addition to Smith, Molt and Briels.

"The major reason I went on this committee to begin with was it was said that if the Committee of Safety needed to, they could call in the militia," Briels later told reporters. "I don't want a bloodbath in my county, and if there's any committee that has the power to pull the trigger on something that causes a bloodbath, I'm going to be on that, because nobody's going to touch that trigger if I'm there."

No sooner had the group formed than Bundy created a website for the committee that lashed out against government tyranny. Bundy also drafted a letter in the committee's name directing harsh words at the sheriff.

Committee members said they hadn't authorized either. They didn't sign the letter -- their founding documents say they want to "work with and not against" the sheriff -- and they removed some of Bundy's rhetoric from the website.

And they were stunned when Bundy and his group of other out-of-state militants made a run for the wildlife refuge after a peaceful downtown march that drew about 300.

"Any events or actions carried out by out-of-area activists after the rally in town was contrary to our understanding or the purpose and objectives of the Harney County Committee of Safety," the group wrote in a statement on the day of the takeover.

But once Bundy and his group settled in to the refuge, the committee -- like many townsfolk -- had mixed feelings on the occupation.

At a community meeting arranged by Sheriff Dave Ward, residents offered qualified endorsements of Bundy's message and the attention his actions brought to the county, though most said they didn't approve of his tactics.

The Committee of Safety later announced that it had drafted a letter asking Bundy to decamp while praising his bid to grab the national spotlight for rancher rights.

"We feel that any good that may come out of this event has reached its full potential," the members wrote. "We ask that you organize your people, explain that your point has been made and leave in a peaceful and honorable fashion."

The committee originally was divided 3-3 on whether to deliver the letter, but eventually did after holding its own town hall meeting and hearing residents say the same thing. The committee felt that the continued presence of the occupation had begun to distract from advancing the cause.

"Ammon Bundy does not speak for us, and we do not speak for him," Smith said. "We have differences over what he's done. Now it's time for us to move forward and make some progress."

***

It's not clear how much sway the committee members hold with the occupiers.

They've visited the refuge and met with Bundy as a group. "He's been nothing but kind to us," Briels said.

But more than a week after receiving the committee's letter, the occupiers remain entrenched and the committee is still waiting to hear Bundy's plan.

Bundy has said he won't bow out until the Hammonds are out of prison and the refuge is under local control and in the hands of ranchers, loggers and miners. At the same time, he and other protest leaders have said they would go if asked by county residents and if locals will carry out their mission.

In the meantime, the protesters have seized government equipment and carved out a new roadway among the refuge headquarters buildings.

So far, committee members have directed their harshest criticism toward the Harney County government for denying the committee's request to use the county fairgrounds for another public meeting -- this one with invited guest Ammon Bundy.

The committee members are now considering legal action against the county for blocking the meeting, planned for last Friday but called off because they couldn't find another place to hold it.

"If the county would have allowed us to have this public meeting, which is our constitutional right of assembly and free speech, then we would be a lot closer to de-escalating this situation," Briels said.

Briels, in particular, took a public stand alongside the protesters. At one of Bundy's daily press briefings last week, Briels announced that he had resigned his part-time post as county fire marshal over the meeting dispute, saying he had lost respect for county commissioner Steve Grasty.

Grasty said he considers Briels a friend. But he said the county wouldn't allow any of its buildings to be used by groups affiliated with Bundy.

"The Committee of Safety has a perception issue," Grasty said. "It's impossible to tell which side they're on, what they're supporting, what they're not supporting."

The committee members have agreed to take on elements of Bundy's cause when he departs. They've drafted a resolution seeking public lands to be turned over to county residents, and they plan to seek to change the laws that landed the Hammonds back in prison.

"Now that we have the attention of legislators and other decision-making people, we need to capitalize on this and carry on with what we feel needs to be corrected," Molt said.

That gives Bundy an opening to say he's accomplished his mission and head home.

He's said repeatedly that his group came to Harney county to help residents assert their rights and once that happens, the occupiers will leave. He hasn't offered many details, but promised to present an exit strategy at last week's canceled meeting.

The committee said it's seeking an alternate location and a spokesman for the protesters said Bundy was working on a PowerPoint presentation that would outline his plan, but the meeting hasn't been rescheduled.

The Committee of Safety, meanwhile, met privately last Friday, forming subcommittees that will work on projects like gaining county control of federal lands, Molt said. The federal government owns three-quarters of Harney County.

Along the way, Briels said, the committee has picked up about 40 additional supporters, and some have agreed to work on those issues.

It proposes to work with legislators on land issues and seek clemency for the Hammonds. It's also petitioning the county to re-investigate the Hammond case -- something Bundy has called for.

Molt said the committee wants to show it's using the focus and advocacy that Bundy has drawn to Harney County.

"He's not leaving until he's assured that's going to happen," she said. "He doesn't want to leave just to have everything go right back to where it was."

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

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@enjus