Arrests of the last four occupiers by the FBI ends the ‘traumatic’ 41-day occupation of Malheur national wildlife refuge

The armed militia occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge came to a dramatic and extraordinary end on Thursday when the final four holdouts abandoned their weapons and turned themselves in to the FBI, in a surrender that was broadcast live on YouTube.

The 41-day occupation of the federal complex in rural Harney County built to an intense crescendo when the last remaining protester, David Fry, a 27-year-old from Ohio, was persuaded to abandon talk of violence and suicide to emerge from the refuge and hand himself over amid shouts of “hallelujah”.

“I declare war against the federal government!” Fry shouted before he put down his gun and surrendered. “I’m taking a stand. A stand means you’re willing to risk your life.”

Around the same time, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint in neighboring Nevada against Cliven Bundy, the cattle rancher whose defiant standoff in 2014 inspired the occupation in Oregon. The indictment of 69-year-old Bundy, a spiritual grandfather for the ultra-conservative federal lands movement, signaled a determination to clamp down on the wider anti-government militia movement.

He was arrested in Portland late Wednesday evening, shortly after the FBI announced a changed in tactic, moving in on the last remaining occupiers of the Malheur national wildlife refuge.



Prosecutors have accused Bundy – who has for years refused to pay grazing fees to the government – of conspiracy against the federal government, assault on an officer, interference with commerce by extortion and several other serious offenses.



His two sons, Ammon and Ryan, are among 12 people recently arrested in connection with the Oregon standoff. They will now be joined by Fry and the three other holdouts who left the refuge an hour earlier on Thursday – Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada, and Idaho residents Sean Anderson, 47, and his wife Sandy, 48.

Federal prosecutors have filed conspiracy charges against five additional men involved in the standoff, according to court filings that were unsealed on Thursday afternoon. The men named in the indictment are Blaine Cooper, Corey Lequieu, Neil Wampler, Jason Charles Blomgren and Darryl William Thorn.

A continual YouTube live-stream of phone calls with the last four occupants provided an unprecedented window into the occupiers’ deliberations, amid fraught and sometimes panicked discussions over the final 18 hours of the standoff.



Nevada assemblywoman Michele Fiore, a Republican lawmaker and vocal supporter of the Bundys, emerged as a key figure in the negotiations – traveling to the refuge to encourage the last occupiers to leave, and offering them advice and prayers via live-streamed phone calls.

How the FBI's wait-and-see strategy in Oregon standoff met live-streaming Read more

When Fry’s final surrender was heard over the audio stream, Fiore, a supporter for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, could be heard saying she needed “a hot tub and a massage”.

News of the occupation’s conclusion came two weeks after law enforcement officials first arrested Ammon, the leader of the standoff, and fatally shot militia spokesman LaVoy Finicum, setting in train the downfall of the rightwing militia that for weeks had refused to surrender.

A group of armed activists, mostly from outside of Oregon, first took over the federally protected wildlife sanctuary on 2 January – claiming they were protesting government land-use regulations and the imprisonment of two local ranchers, Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven.

From the start, the heavily armed militia said the occupation could last for “several years”, with some saying they were willing to die for the cause.

But within days local officials and residents of Harney County and the nearby town of Burns were urging the Bundys and their crew of militiamen to go home, many saying they opposed the armed takeover even if they supported the idea of protesting government overreach.

The opposition continued to increase over the following weeks as local officials and commentators from across the country called on the FBI to arrest and prosecute the militia occupying government buildings.

With law enforcement taking a deliberately cautious approach to avoid a violent confrontation, the activists’ protest tactics escalated. They destroyed a government fence, removed cameras from the area, rifled through artifacts of the local Native American tribe and left the refuge to recruit new supporters outside of Harney County.

But the militia’s free passage in and out of the federal compound came to an end on 26 January when FBI agents and state troopers stopped Ammon and Ryan Bundy, Finicum and others driving on a remote highway outside of Burns.

Finicum, who police say was armed, was shot and killed after he reached his hands toward his pocket, according to the account of the FBI, which also released aerial footage of the confrontation. Finicum’s supporters have insisted that he was targeted and would never have fired at officers.

At the highway, the Bundy brothers and three others were arrested and charged with federal felony offenses of impeding officers.

Within two days of Finicum’s death, only four people remained at the refuge. Some had left the occupation without facing charges, while others tried to leave and were arrested by the FBI at strategic checkpoints.

Prosecutors have alleged that the 16 jailed activists impeded the government from conducting official duties through the use of “force, intimidation and threats”. They could face up to six years behind bars – meaning they could be in prison for more years than the Hammond ranchers whose prosecution inspired the standoff.

After his arrest Ammon Bundy, who was denied bail and remains behind bars in Portland, repeatedly urged the final occupiers to leave the refuge and end the standoff.

Cliven, however, defied his son and encouraged the four holdouts to stand their ground. He told the Guardian on Wednesday night that he was traveling to Oregon to help ensure that the FBI didn’t kill the protesters.

By Thursday afternoon, federal officials were expressing relief that the occupation was over and said they were ready to begin investigating the “crime scene” and restore the wildlife sanctuary.

“The occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge has been a long and traumatic episode for the citizens of Harney County and the members of the Burns Paiute [Native American] tribe,” Billy Williams, US attorney for the district of Oregon, said in a statement. “It is a time for healing, reconciliation amongst neighbors and friends, and allowing for life to get back to normal.”