On Wednesday, leaders and protesters who staged a six-week armed occupation at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon are to be arraigned in federal court. The protesters pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers patrolling the compound during a fight over federal control of land in the west.
The long-simmering standoff lasted for more than a month and have drawn international attention, which prompted fears that it would arouse in more violence. According to Reuters, Ammon Bundy, who is the leader of the group, and other anti-government protesters were arrested in connection with the takeover of the US wildlife refuge. The group then appeared in a US court in Portland
Law Newz reported that four of the defendants waived their appearance, with the intent to plead not guilty, while the others stood before a US District Court Judge. Joseph O' Shaughnessy, Brian Cavalier, Shawna Cox, Ryan Payne, Jason Patrick, Jon Ritzheimer, Duane Leo Ehmer, Sean Anderson, Dylan Anderson, Kenneth Madenbach, Sandra Lynn Pfeifer, David Fry, Jeff W. Banta, and along with Ammon's brother Ryan, was individually charged with one felony count of conspiracy to impede federal officers of the United States of America.
A three-page indictment was released by a federal grand jury that states the defendants brandished firearms and refused to leave the refuge while threatening violence against anyone who attempted to remove them, as Yahoo News reported. Lawyer of Ammon, Mike Arnold, said that his client is 'very excited' to move forward with his case and access and utilize his Constitutional rights to continue his mission. The standoff ended on February 11 after the final four protesters surrendered to officers following a dramatic exchange with mediators.
The defendants claimed that the standoff was a demonstration of the imprisonment of ranchers who started fires that spread to other federal lands near the refuge. The shots that were fired injured Ryan Bundy and killed the group's spokesperson Robert "LaVov" Finicum.
