Harney County sheriff speaks of ‘alternative motives’ while Ammon Bundy’s group puts away firearms to convince media it is civil rights issue

On the second day of its armed occupation of the Malheur national wildlife refuge, the Bundy militia shifted tactics. From a state of lockdown it moved to a charm offensive, inviting a small media contingent inside its redoubt, with warm smiles and waves.

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The local sheriff was not convinced.

“These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers,” Sheriff David Ward said in a statement, “when in reality these men had alternative motives, to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States.”

Members of the rightwing Bundy militia occupied the wildlife refuge in Oregon over the weekend, threatening a confrontation with federal authorities, in support of two cattle ranchers who were convicted of setting fires on federal land.

The cattle ranchers, father and son Steven and Dwight Hammond, said they did so while trying to clear their own land so their cattle could feed. The authorities said otherwise. They have both served time in prison and are due to report to a jail in San Diego on Monday in order to serve some more.

The Oregon senator Ron Wyden told the Associated Press the FBI was co-ordinating the official response to the occupation with the sheriff and state police. He also blamed outsiders.



Ammon Bundy, the 40-year-old leader of the men occupying the federal buildings, insisted his men were peaceful. But, he said, if the federal government tried to take back the refuge, “they would be putting lives at risk”.

The journalists he spoke to had driven the 30 miles (48km) from Burns through heavy snowfall. Greeting them, Bundy was accompanied by a man who would identify himself only as his bodyguard. A few others lingered. There were no guns in sight.

Everything was calculated to project an image of calm and reason and the absence of any threat. Just after 11am, Bundy opened his media conference.

“Your role is very important,” he said. “We do believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and that the American people have a right to know what’s going on.”

For Bundy, the re-sentencing and re-imprisonment of Steven and Dwight Hammond is simply a civil rights issue; his armed militia members are simply civil rights protectors. The Hammonds were persecuted by the federal government, he said, because they refused to “sell their ranch so it can be added to the Malheur wildlife refuge”.

The Hammonds were the target, he said, of “vindictive behaviours”, from fines and harassment up to and including prosecution under federal anti-terrorism laws.

Bundy is the son of the Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, whose victory in a land rights standoff with federal agents made the family famous in 2014. He responded to questions patiently and in an even, measured voice. Such poise was clearly a product of his experience at the Bundy ranch, deployed in an effort to defuse the accusation that the group’s actions here were those of extremists or terrorists.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ammon Bundy, in checked jacket, and other militia members meet the press. Photograph: Jason Wilson/the Guardian

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That marked a shift from the previous day, when Bundy’s conspicuously armed men completed their occupation of this small collection of federal buildings.

Nevertheless, the sunshine policy turned out to go only so far. Bundy confirmed that fire observation towers at the refuge were now occupied by marksmen, for “safety”, and said he was “absolutely” prepared to use force if he thought the situation warranted it.

Once again, there was no evidence of any law enforcement presence on or near the refuge.

In his statement, Sheriff Ward said he was working with local and federal authorities to keep citizens safe and to quickly and peacefully resolve the situation. He asked people to stay away from the refuge, but did not think any other parts of the county were in immediate danger.



At the refuge, Bundy admitted that only “a small percentage” of the still unknown number of militia members on site were from Harney County, but said locals were offering support and supplies.



In isolation, the militia controlled the narrative. To many in Harney County, a place with an ambivalent relationship with government, the image of the Hammonds as persecuted victims of authority is persuasive.

The militia members also talked about the economic decline of the county, and of eastern Oregon in general. In doing so, they tapped into very real feelings about very real hardships.

“Harney County at one time was the wealthiest county in the state,” Bundy said. “Because the federal government came in and blocked access to resources, it fell into economic depression. We intend to reverse that.”

In discussions about the decline of areas formerly dependent on ranching and logging, the federal government makes a convenient scapegoat. On Sunday, no one was present to tell a more difficult and complex story.

“This refuge from its very inception has been a tool of tyranny,” said Bundy. “Steven and Dwight Hammond would not have been abused the way they have if we had adhered to the constitution. When government steps outside the bounds the people have given it, it is the duty of the people to put it back in its place.”

In order to do this, Bundy said, he and his men planned to stay where they were for a very long time.

“We do have a plan,” he said, “and that plan is going to take several months to accomplish. Those who have rights on this land, those rights will be acknowledged. There will be an opportunity to claim those rights. We are going to defend you as you use those rights.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ryan Bundy talks on the phone at the Malheur national wildlife refuge. Photograph: Rebecca Boone/AP

If the federal government tried to take the refuge back, he said, “they would be putting lives at risk. We are not putting anyone at risk right now. This refuge rightfully belongs to the people.”

Bundy said the militia members intended to “assist the people of Harney County to claim their rights”, and to use the refuge both to make their stand and to “stay out of the cold”.



He would not say what his end goal was, except to return the land to “ranching, trucks and recreational vehicles like it used to be”.



Asked if law enforcement officials had communicated with his men, he said: “No, not since we made this stand.” Anyone who was not a law enforcement official would be able to access the refuge, he said, while the militia were there.

“This is your land. Although it makes it complicated for us, we are not about restricting.”

Bundy concluded by outlining his vision of the structure and powers of government in the US, as laid down in the constitution.

“The federal government’s job is to protect the states from the outside world,” he said. “The states’ job is to protect the counties from the federal government. The counties’ job is to protect the people from the states.

“And the people’s job is to be free.”