A Christian extremist claims his men are armed and prepared to die in the occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in rural Oregon.

The leader of the armed occupation in Oregon is Ammon Bundy, the son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who engaged in an armed standoff with the government over grazing rights in 2014.

Bundy is demanding that two convicted arsonists be released and that the federal government relinquish control of the Malheur National Forest.

Bundy says his group is heavily armed and prepared to die if provoked. Speaking for the heavily armed anti-government group, Bundy vowed on Sunday to continue to occupy the federal wildlife refuge building in rural Oregon indefinitely.

Accounts of how many militia are at the refuge range from their own claims of up to 150 to accounts from reporters at the scene that there may be no more than 15.

The terrorists are protesting the federal prosecution of two ranchers (Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46) both convicted of arson in a failed attempt to cover up illegal poaching on federal lands.

On his Facebook page Bundy issued several calls to “all freedom loving people to come to Harney County Oregon” to participate in the terrorist uprising:

Standing for the rights of men & womenBREAKING! SHARE! Standing for the rights of Men & Women. Calling all freedom loving people to come to Harney County Oregon, come to the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge. The people are finally getting some good use out of a federal facility. Posted by Bundy Ranch on Saturday, January 2, 2016

Days prior to the start of the terrorist occupation, Bundy used his Facebook page to issue a call to prayers for the convicted arsonists prior to the occupation:

The Hammond’s need our prayers. Please take the time and get on your knees as soon as possible and pray to our Father above for the Hammond’s. They need our sincere prayers. They need the Spirit of the Lord to be upon them that they may have strength and knowledge.

In a statement issued Sunday the Oregon State Police warned local residents to stay away from the wildlife refuge “for their safety” and said it was working with other law enforcement agencies to bring the occupation to an end, noting:

These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, 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.

Oregon Live reports local residents are frightened and concerned about the terrorist occupation. Because of the real risk of violence schools will remain closed the entire week, though they were scheduled to re-open Monday after the holiday break.

In a YouTube video released Dec. 31 Ammon Bundy claims his decision to launch the terrorist action was the result of divine inspiration, a result of what he claims to be a “heart-felt conversation with the Lord.”

In the video, Bundy repeatedly claims that God is on his side, and wants him to fight the federal government, declaring that God directed him to go to Oregon, a state he had never visited before. Bundy opines:

I began to understand how the Lord felt about the Hammonds. I began to understand how the Lord felt about Harney County and about this country. And I clearly understood that the Lord was not pleased with what was happening to the Hammonds… If we allowed the Hammonds to continue to be punished, there would be accountability.

Bundy concludes the video by asking potential fellow Christian terrorists to join him in his act of domestic terrorism:

I am asking you to come to Harney County to participate in this wonderful thing that the Lord is about to accomplish…

Because Bundy and his band of domestic terrorists are white and Christian the mainstream media and government authorities have been reluctant to label these armed domestic terrorists for what they are: armed domestic terrorists.

For example, ABC described these heavily armed militants who took over a federal building and are threatening to fight to the death if their demands are not met as “peaceful” protesters. In recognition of the troubling double standard being deployed by the media, the Washington Post asks “Why aren’t we calling the Oregon militia terrorists?”

It’s a good question.

In another troubling video, also posted Dec. 31, militia member John Ritzheimer bids farewell to his family as he prepares to drive to Oregon, where he says he is “100 percent willing to lay my life down in order to fight tyranny.”

Ritzheimer’s video is strikingly similar to the Martyrdom videos often made by jihadists about to take part in a suicide attack.

(Portions of this article were previously published here)