Armed Group Occupying Oregon Wildlife Refuge 'Here to Work'

BURNS, OR - As an armed militia continues its occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, group members, now calling themselves, “Citizens for Constitutional Freedom,” say they intend to continue their fight to take federally owned land and disperse it to local ranchers and others.

At a press conference held at 11 a.m. local time, a member of the group, Shawna Cox, who identified herself as an American and a patriot, read a list of grievances. She said the group holds compelling evidence that the U.S. government abused the federal court system in the prosecution of two Harney County ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond.

Click here to read the full claims made by the group.

Harney County Sheriff David Ward made a brief statement at a press conference Monday calling for the group to go home and end this peacefully.

“You say you are here to help,” Ward said directly addressing the group at the refuge. “That help ended when you turned a peaceful protest into an armed occupation.”

Prosecutors say the Hammonds set a fire in 2001 that burned 130 acres to cover up an illegal deer slaughter. A statement released by their attorney, W. Alan Schroeder reads the two ranchers intend to report to prison on Monday to serve their sentences.

Ward confirmed at the press conference that the Hammonds are currently in custody in California.

“The Hammonds will continue their legal efforts to renew their grazing permits. They will also pursue Executive Clemency. We hope that President Obama will agree with us and with the veteran judge who presided over the trial that the mandatory five-year minimum sentence is far too long for these ranchers,” the statement says.

Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy, a central figure in the group, went on to say the federal government launched an attack on the Hammonds when they refused to sell their ranch. He claims they were prosecuted for practices ranchers routinely conduct. Bundy said he had not spoken with the Hammonds recently.

He also claims the land at the refuge has been unconstitutionally taken by the federal government.

The Hammonds had earlier distanced themselves from the group in a statement through Schroeder. The statement said no one in the group including the Bundys spoke for the Hammonds.

The FBI is now the lead investigative agency for the situation at the refuge, working with local authorities to bring a “peaceful resolution,” the agency announced Monday. Citing safety considerations, the FBI said it would not be releasing specifics on the law enforcement response. Bundy said he was confident authorities would not try to remove the group from the building.

Speaking with media outlets when the occupation first began, Bundy and his brother Ryan Bundy said they were not looking to hurt anyone but would not rule out violence if authorities try and remove them from the building.

The occupation came late Saturday after about 300 protesters marched through Burns to protest the Hammonds’ prosecution. Bundy has refused to answer reporters’ questions about the number of people that have occupied the building.