Armed Oregon standoff continues despite arrests

BURNS, Ore. — A small group of holdouts continued the tense standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Thursday, one day after eight others abandoned the site as federal, state and local authorities tightened their grip on the armed occupation.

Greg Bretzing, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Portland office, said one more person left the refuge through a checkpoint Thursday.

"We believe there are four others who currently remain on the refuge," Bretzing said. "Since the establishment of checkpoints, a total of nine people have left the refuge. Of those, the FBI released six and arrested three."

Protester David Fry said he and the others who remain at the refuge are willing to leave if none are criminally charged.

Duane Leo Ehmer, 45, of Irrigon, Ore., and Dylan Wade Anderson, 34, of Provo, Utah, and Jason S. Patrick, 43, of Bonaire, Ga., were arrested Wednesday at checkpoints manned by the FBI and Oregon State Police, the FBI said. Five others were not arrested.

Protest leader Ammon Bundy and seven other occupiers also were arrested earlier this week in the standoff that began Jan. 2 as a protest against federal management of local land. Each faces one federal felony charge of "conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats."

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The maximum penalty for a conviction is six years in prison. Oregon criminal defense lawyer Kevin Sali said protesters could face more charges in the near future.

"This is a comparatively mild charge considering what has happened," Sali, who is not directly involved in the case, told USA TODAY. "It is fairly common for prosecutors to file a basic charge to get people in the system, in this case in custody, while they gather more evidence and work out legal theories."

Bruce Huber, a Notre Dame law professor who specializes in natural resources, said the efforts of the protesters are not likely to result in major policy changes for managing the nation's 700 million acres of public land. But the protest may prompt an effort by federal land managers to address frustrations at the local level.

"Managers .... may feel pressure, in light of the standoff, to avoid imposing grazing restrictions or collecting on overdue fees, for example," Huber said. "Individual managers do have a fair amount of discretion under federal law."

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Bundy, 40, was one of six protesters stopped Tuesday at a roadblock 20 miles from the refuge. Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, 55, a soft-spoken but defiant Arizona rancher, was shot and killed. Officials refused to provide details, but his identity was confirmed by his family. Bundy and the other four protesters were taken into custody.

FBI agents are not generally equipped with body cameras, but video of the incident involving Finicum was captured by accompanying law enforcement, an official familiar with the matter said Thursday. The official was not authorized to comment publicly.

Authorities were debating late Thursday whether to provide more details about the confrontation that led to Finicum’s fatal shooting.

On Wednesday, Bundy urged his followers to leave the refuge, saying the fight "is ours for now in the courts. Please go home."

Those arrested Tuesday included the Bundy, of Emmett, Idaho, and his brother Ryan, 43, of Bunkerville, Nev., along with Brian Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville; Shawna Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah; and Ryan Waylen Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Mont. Also arrested, at separate locations in Burns, Ore., near the refuge, were Pete Santilli, host of a conservative online radio show, and Joseph Donald O'Shaughnessy, 45, of Cottonwood, Ariz.

Jon Eric Ritzheimer, 32, was arrested after turning himself into police in Peoria, Ariz.

Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights. The elder Bundy said the fatal shooting of Finicum and the arrests should be a "wake-up call to America."

"This is a total disaster to be happening in America, where we have federal people killing innocent people," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "My sons were there to do good."

Bacon reported from Arlington, Va. Contributing: Doug Stanglin