BURNS, Ore. — With the FBI tightening its ring around them, the last four holdouts in the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered Thursday, ending a 41-day standoff that left one man dead and exposed simmering anger over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western land.
The last occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge gave up without incident a day after federal agents surrounded the site.
Nearby residents were relieved.
“I just posted hallelujah on my Facebook,” said Julie Weikel, who lives next to the nature preserve. “And I think that says it all. I am so glad this is over.”
Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.
The elder Bundy appeared in federal court Thursday in Portland to hear the charges against him, all of which stem from the 2014 confrontation with federal authorities in Nevada.
He’s accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland. The charges include conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice and weapons charges.
At the court hearing, the elder Bundy asked for a court-appointed attorney. U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart said she wanted to see financial documents first. She set a detention hearing for next Tuesday, and Bundy will stay in jail until then.
Federal authorities have said Bundy owes more than $1.1 million in fees and penalties for letting cows graze illegally on public land for about 20 years near his Bunkerville, Nevada, ranch.
Bundy, 69, was arrested Wednesday night when he arrived at Portland International Airport from Las Vegas to visit his sons, Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy.
His detention means he’ll be housed in the same jail as his sons, the leaders of an armed group that occupied an Oregon wildlife refuge.
The 32-page criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas accuses Bundy of leading more than 200 self-styled militia supporters into the April 2014 confrontation that had snipers with military-style weapons on a freeway overpass training their sights on federal agents who were attempting to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle.
Also Thursday, federal prosecutors in Oregon said nine more people from six states have been charged in connection with the Oregon wildlife refuge occupation. Seven were arrested Thursday.
Two Snohomish County men are among those indicted.
Darryl William Thorn, 31, of Marysville, and Eric Lee Flores, 22, of Tulalip, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to impede U.S. officers.
Tulalip Tribal Police and Seattle-based FBI agents arrested Flores Thursday morning, federal authorities said. Thorn was arrested in Oregon.
The five other men named in the indictment were arrested in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, and North Carolina. Two defendants remained at large.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.
