An overview of the Burns,oregon protests
One story being fed to the public is that the protest arose due to the prison sentences of local ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond. They had been penalized for burning government land to make it more suitable for cattle grazing. This was not their first case of arson, they were also penalized for arson in 2001 and 2006. The protests were organized by Ammon and Ryan Bundy, sons of Cliven Bundy who had an armed standoff with federal officials over grazing rights. The protesters have occupied Malheur Wildlife Refuge in order to have the land returned to the people, however the people in this case are local ranchers. Many academic locals such as Nancy Langston claims that if the land is to be returned to the people it should be returned to its original inhabitants the Paiute tribe, who have in turn claimed that the protesters should leave the "sacred site."
The occupiers are mostly ranchers with a track record of breaking the law or having close brushes with the law, and who are for the most part not even from Oregon. The Bundy brothers are Arizona natives who are also part of the cattle industry. Jon Ritzheimer began making a name for himself by orchestrating armed Anti-Islam protests in Phoenix, Arizona. Blaine Cooper, another Arizonian, posts youtube videos regarding increased border patrol and protests against the Federal Land Management Bureau, he was convicted of aggravated assault and was charged with other crimes but not convicted. Amongst these is Robert "Lavoy" Finicum an aged rancher who now refuses to pay grazing fees due to some "soul searching" he did during Cliven Bundy's standoff against federal officials. These are the main instigators of the protests and are all known to be "patriots" and they call their movement, "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom". The FBI is now working with local law enforcement after pleas from state officials to get involved and remove the occupiers. Due to their slow involvement of the occupation, not much has been accomplished but they are planning to attempt to remove the occupiers peacefully and are trying to form a compromise between the federal government and the occupiers Citizens or Oregon are uncomfortable with the occupation and as a result local school districts have shut down and the federal Bureau of Land MAnagement in Burns is closed indefinitely. Others have gone so far as the call the occupiers domestic terrorists and have named them "Y'all Qaeda". While others have shown their support by claiming that the occupation is similar to the Black Lives Matter movement since it is a protest against the wrongdoings of government. Although, it can be argued that the government is well within its boundaries in penalizing the Hammonds for encroaching on land that belonged to the government and burning it. |