Brandon Dowd wants Black Lives Matter activists to travel to rural Harney County in Oregon, to learn about the US constitution.

One of several dozen protesters holding their ground at the armed occupation of the Malheur national wildlife refuge, Dowd, from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, stands out in the armed militia of white men who say they are fighting the government over federal regulations of public lands.

The 31-year-old is the only African American and only person of color the Guardian has seen at the refuge since the occupation began two weeks ago – though he and others insist a small handful of non-white militia members are present.

As commentators from across the country continue to lament law enforcement’s passive approach to the occupation of government buildings – arguing that if the protesters were black or Muslim, the response would have been swift and violent – Dowd said he wished people would stop criticizing the protests and instead visit the compound.

“I would encourage more black people to come here to get educated,” Dowd said, standing at the front entrance to the refuge on Saturday. “They could learn a lot being here and talking to these constitutional lawyers.”

Dowd, who said he mentors youth, has been camped out at the refuge for about a week and frequently does armed security rotations. He rarely attends the militia’s daily press conferences, but decided to stand alongside leader LaVoy Finicum on Saturday morning, because he said he was passionate about Finicum’s complaints about the FBI allegedly spying on the occupiers.

Dowd said he was first inspired by Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s victorious standoff with the federal government over land-use rights in 2014. When he saw that Cliven’s son, Ammon, was leading a similar battle against the government in Oregon, Dowd decided he wanted to experience the protests in person.

“I just had enough of … seeing others being mistreated,” said Dowd, who grew up in Detroit. “I just felt like it was time for me to be a part of it.”

Dowd said he was both deeply distrustful of the US Bureau of Land Management and fascinated by the idea of forming a so-called “common law grand jury” of local residents that could operate outside the court system and hold corrupt government officials accountable. It’s a concept that the Bundy militia has recently embraced and that critics have mocked, as anti-government extremism taken to an absurd level.

Using hashtags like #CrimingWhileWhite, many opponents of the occupation have also argued that the militiamen, shielded by white privilege, are getting away with increasingly brazen and destructive illegal behavior while Black Lives Matter protesters have faced aggressive cops armed with military-grade equipment and teargas.

Refuge occupiers have said in response that they think looting and rioting that followed protests over the deaths of African American men in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore is more of a threat and that they consider the Malheur occupation to be peaceful.

Dowd, too, said that he does not view the occupation as violent and that he would like to see Black Lives Matter activists research the “grand jury” model as a way to address their grievances.

“Go to the sheriff in your county, and if he is corrupt, then you need to raise a grand jury on your own and outline the documentation of the wrongdoing,” he said. “This is what this is about – finding a better way of doing things.”

Brandon Dowd listens as LaVoy Finicum speaks to the press. Photograph: Sam Levin/the Guardian

The fight to use public lands is something people of all different backgrounds should support, he added: “If you don’t have control of the land ... then you’re at the mercy of someone who doesn’t have your best interest in mind.”

Dowd said that at the refuge, he had found a welcoming community of like-minded individuals – people eager to defend constitutional rights. “We’re all here together. We’re all learning. There’s a lot of camaraderie.”

He also said he hoped more young adults joined the occupation. “It’s time for our generation to wake up,” he said.

Dowd said he had faith in Ammon Bundy’s leadership, and that he planned to remain at the refuge until the end.

“I have to stay here until justice has prevailed,” he said.