I’d like to say that I first noticed this on the Oregon Public Broadcasting site, but in fact, I picked this up on a Facebook feed. A writer I follow noted that apparently there’s movement up around the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, so I decided to take a look at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
And he was right. Something's up.
6:00 p.m. The FBI appears to be moving in on the remaining occupants at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
A live-stream from Gaven Seim, a media personality who frequently posts videos in support of the occupation, is capturing mounting tension among the four occupiers inside the refuge. At times a fifth voice is heard over the stream. That person has addressed occupation members David Fry and Sean Anderson by name.
“Put your weapon down and come forward,” the voice said. “I want to hear what you have to say.”
Seim said he received a call from Fry and began streaming it online.
The occupiers are calling for politicians to intervene and protect them and are asking for Assemblywoman Michele Fiore.
So what does Assemblywoman Michele Fiore have to do with this? Well, the Nevada politician has been a vocal supporter of Ammon Bundy and his gang of extremists, from furthering the false claim that Lavoy Finicum was murdered to traveling to Oregon to advocate for Bundy and his followers after they were indicted on charges of conspiracy and threatening law officers during the standoff at the wildlife refuge. Fiore claimed she was there to demand Ammon Bundy’s release, saying, “There is a Nevadan [Ryan Bundy] sitting in jail, and as an office holder, I will be there to demand his release [ . . . ] If that Nevadan can’t leave Oregon, we will bring Nevada to him. Peaceful, of course.”
Aside from betraying a lack of how federal law works (you can’t just get someone extradited to a state because they live there), Fiore has helped to fuel other right-wing extremists’ conspiracy theories by repeating her story that Robert “Lavoy” Finicum was murdered by FBI agents, in spite of the fact that Finicum’s death was recorded and released to the public without editing. As she is now in Oregon with Cliven Bundy, the father in more ways than one of the Bundy anti-government movement, Fiore is also the most visible public figure supporting Ammon Bundy.
I haven’t found much information about how Fiore’s constituents feel about her antics outside of her home state, but a letter to the editor published to the Reno Gazette-Journal was an eye-opener:
Letter: Fiore’s support for Bundys condones their illegal acts
The Nevada superstars (Bundy family) are in the news again. Now, instead of confronting federal officials regarding their own property and disputed rights, they have taken up their fight against perceived tyranny in Oregon.
I understand why they do what they do and I empathize with the challenges of making living off the land. What I do not understand is how Nevada assemblywoman Michele Fiore can support these people. Fiore’s continued support and communication with the Bundys and their cohorts only serves to legitimize (in their minds) and condone their illegal activities.
I urge Nevada lawmakers to speak out against Fiore’s follies as well as the continued occupation in Oregon. I also hope that the voters will see through her rhetoric and send her packing.
The management of our rangelands is a monumental task and will only work by bringing cool heads together.
Listen to the live feed from the OPB article: Live feed from Malheur.
Update:
6:22 p.m. Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore called in to the militants from the Portland airport. She said she would be willing to travel to Burns to help negotiate an end to the standoff.
Right now, the FBI has placed agents at barricades surrounding the refuge, while negotiating with the four extremists still inside. Those four are David Fry, Sean Anderson, Sandy Anderson, and Jeff Banta, who remained at the refuge after most of the Bundy extremists were either arrested or allowed to leave last month. This apparently started, according to Ryan Haas of OPB, when one of the extremists drove an ATV outside the barricades and then sped off when approached by FBI agents.
Update 2: Apparently something has happened at the refuge. According to a tweet from OPB’s Amanda Peacher, an ambulance pulled into the RV park just outside the FBI blockade. Peacher also tweeted that, “I definitely hear helicopters.”
Update 3: From Ryan Haas: