Burns, Ore. – Here’s the latest from Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward regarding the Oregon militants who’ve been occupying a building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge center in rural Oregon since Saturday.
“Good afternoon. My name is David Ward, and I am the Sheriff of Harney County. The Hammonds have turned themselves in today at 1:37 p.m., in accordance with the law, and are currently in custody at Federal Correctional Institution in California. Harney County is a community of approximately 7,000 people; almost 5,000 of us live here in the community of Burns and Hines. This event has had a significant impact on that community. Our goal is to work together to restore calm and regular services for the people we serve.
This incident originally started when people from outside the state arrived in an attempt to prevent the Hammonds from returning to prison. This began as a peaceful protest. It took an unfortunate turn when some of those people broke off and began an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The Harney County Commissioners and I have requested law enforcement assistance from Oregon State Sheriff’s Association and Oregon State Police. Sheriff’s Offices from around the state have also sent resources to assist us. We requested this additional support to make sure the citizens of Harney County are safe. This is our top priority.
I want to directly address the people at the wildlife refuge: You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County. That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed and unlawful protest. The Hammonds have turned themselves in. It is time for you to leave our community. Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully.”
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The leader of several ranchers who’ve been occupying a building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge center in rural Oregon since Saturday says they won’t back down.
The standoff began after a demonstration on Saturday in support of two ranchers, Dwight Hammond and his son Steven, who were convicted of setting fires on federal lands. The Hammonds are now preparing to turn themselves into prison, but Ammon Bundy, the leader of the group, says they want the land to be turned over to local authorities to use without federal government oversight.
“We have tried and tried and tried prudent methods to get government to at least look at this and say hey, there’s something wrong here. The rest of America can see that there’s something wrong,” Bundy told the media.
In a statement from the FBI Sunday:
The FBI is working with the Harney County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The FBI is the lead investigative agency for the situation at the refuge.
Due to safety considerations for both those inside the refuge as well as the law enforcement officers involved, we will not be releasing any specifics with regards to the law enforcement response.
