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American Indian land, American Indians, armed protest, armed takeover, Bakken, Bakken oil, Bakken shale, DAPL, Federal Land, FWS, historic preservation, Idaho, indigenous rights, land held in trust, Malheur, Malheur Armed Takeover, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Mormon militia, National Historic Preservation Act, Nevada, Paiute, peaceful protest, Public Lands, right wing militia, States Rights, US government land, USFWS, Utah, wildlife sanctuary
“Indigenous activists pointed out that the militia in Oregon didn’t only threaten public officials and the wildlife refuge during their armed occupation, but the armed group also destroyed sacred sites and artifacts of the local Burns Paiute Tribe—just as Dakota Access Pipeline construction has done to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sacred sites in North Dakota” Nika Knight, CommonDreams.org, 28 Oct. 2016
Vennum, Thomas. Paiute Indian Beadwork. August, 1978. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress
While the Mormon (LDS-Latter Day Saints) church pretends they had nothing to do with these Mormon outlaws, it is Mormon-led just the same. Traditionally the Mormons think that the US-US west is their holy land: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_(Latter_Day_Saints) Mormon militia fought the US government and killed non-Mormon settlers passing through in the Utah War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_War
And, the Bundy family and their ilk want the Federal government to hand the land over so that they can better exploit it. As with the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Mormon militia extremists bulldozed through an American Indian burial ground.
The US government really need to change the name of this refuge from “malheur” (misfortune) to something pleasant such as “bonheur”. Maybe they should let the Paiute name it?
“The occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge has been a long and traumatic episode for the citizens of Harney County and the members of the Burns Paiute tribe.
[…]
“Much work is left to assess the crime scene and damage to the refuge and tribal artifacts. We are committed to seeing the job done and to pursue justice for the crimes committed during the illegal occupation… On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, a federal grand jury indicted 16 people” [on] “one federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 372.” (FBI, 11 Feb. 2016)
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/malheur/
Why is the State of North Dakota being so vicious to the peaceful American Indian protestors and hands off for the armed right wing extremists? Apart from racism there is cold hard cash. The North Dakota (Bakken) oil “boom has given the state of North Dakota, a state with a 2013 population of about 725,000, a billion-dollar budget surplus.“ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota_oil_boom
North Dakota want to keep exploiting the land for oil and exporting it by pipeline is cheaper than by rail. It will facilitate export overseas to Europe – so that Putin can’t threaten to cut off their oil, to Japan and maybe China. Meanwhile, it destroys the Dakotas.
Why did the judge let off the armed right wing extremists? One would have to look at the judge and who he is and how he got there. Just off-hand he looks like an ideological sympathizer to these armed militia outlaw bullies.
As National Public Radio explains: “When the occupiers took over the refuge last January, the Burns Paiute people watched in dismay. Ancient artifacts stored there were handled and moved. At one point the militants bulldozed through sacred burial grounds while trying to build a road./ Long before it became a refuge in 1908, the Malheur was the traditional winter gathering area for Kennedy’s people. That was also long before they were moved to a 10-acre reservation near a landfill outside the small town of Burns.” https://web.archive.org/web/20161030031607/http://www.npr.org/2016/10/27/499575873/oregon-occupation-unites-native-american-tribes-to-save-their-land
“FBI Arrests All Remaining Occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
February 11, 2016
At approximately 9:40 a.m. (Pacific) on Thursday, February 11, 2016, the FBI brought three of the remaining Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupiers into custody without incident. At approximately 11:00 a.m., agents brought the fourth into custody without incident.
Sean Larry Anderson, age 47, of Riggins, Idaho
Sandra Lynn Anderson, age 48, of Riggins, Idaho
Jeff Wayne Banta, age 46, of Yerington, Nevada
David Lee Fry, age 27, of Blanchester, Ohio
No one was injured, and no shots were fired. Thursday marks day 41 of the occupation of the refuge.
Agents arrested the remaining four occupiers as they walked out of the refuge to the FBI checkpoint. Those arrested will face arraignment before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Portland on Friday, February 12, 2016.
At times, there were dozens of highly armed militants occupying, visiting and supplying the refuge.
On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, a federal grand jury indicted 16 people:
Dylan Wade Anderson, age 34, of Provo, Utah
Sandra Lynn Anderson, age 48, of Riggins, Idaho
Sean Larry Anderson, age 47, of Riggins, Idaho
Jeff Wayne Banta, age 46, of Yerington, Nevada
Ammon Edward Bundy, age 40, of Emmett, Idaho
Ryan C. Bundy, age 43, of Bunkerville, Nevada
Brian Cavalier, age 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada
Shawna Cox, age 59, Kanab, Utah
Duane Leo Ehmer, age 45, of Irrigon, Oregon
David Lee Fry, age 27, of Blanchester, Ohio
Kenneth Medenbach, age 62, of Crescent, Oregon
Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, age 45, of Cottonwood, Arizona
Jason S. Patrick, age 43, of Bonaire, Georgia
Ryan Waylen Payne, age 32, of Anaconda, Montana
Jon Eric Ritzheimer, age 32, Peoria, Arizona
Peter Santilli, age 50, of Cincinnati, Ohio
Each subject faces one federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 372.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“The occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge has been a long and traumatic episode for the citizens of Harney County and the members of the Burns Paiute tribe. It is a time for healing, reconciliation amongst neighbors and friends, and allowing for life to get back to normal. I want to thank our neighbors in eastern Oregon for their patience, resolve, and their kind and welcoming spirit to the many members of federal, county, state, local, and tribal law enforcement who have worked tirelessly to bring this illegal occupation to a conclusion. The fine work of so many dedicated public servants in a difficult endeavor cannot be understated. I am very proud of them all,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney, District of Oregon.
“Much work is left to assess the crime scene and damage to the refuge and tribal artifacts. We are committed to seeing the job done and to pursue justice for the crimes committed during the illegal occupation.”
The FBI will release more information about the law enforcement work that still remains to be done at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge later in the day“. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/portland/news/press-releases/fbi-arrests-all-remaining-occupiers-at-the-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge (At least some of these still need to go before the judge ut seems:
“U.S. prosecutors regroup for second trial in Oregon occupation
Posted:Fri, 28 Oct 2016 17:51:44 -0400
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors on Friday regrouped to strategize for their next trial of armed militants who occupied a wildlife center in Oregon the day after seven others at a related trial were surprisingly acquitted of all charges.”
http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/domesticNews/~3/aBWo8Bi5f_c/us-oregon-militia-idUSKCN12S2PC ]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Malheur_National_Wildlife_Refuge
From Common Dreams.org:
“‘Unbelievable’: Right-Wing Militia Found Not Guilty After Armed Standoff in Oregon
Published on Friday, October 28, 2016
‘Meanwhile, unarmed Native Americans nonviolently protecting their ancestral lands and water are being brutalized and arrested en masse’
by Nika Knight, staff writer
In a verdict that astonished all sides, Ammon Bundy and seven other members of a right-wing militia were acquitted Thursday of all charges related to their 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon earlier this year, with even one defendant’s lawyer characterizing the jury’s decision as “off-the-charts unbelievable.”
That was Matthew Schindler, an attorney for defendant Kenneth Medenbach, speaking to the Seattle Times. “I had been telling my client you can count on being convicted,” Schindler said. “You don’t walk into a federal court and win a case like this. It just doesn’t happen.”
Conservationists fear that the stunning acquittal will embolden other right-wing groups to take up arms against public land defenders.
“[M]ost Americans agree that taking over the Refuge through threats of violence was appalling. Right now, the safety of employees at our public land management agencies is absolutely crucial,” wrote John Horning, executive director of the New Mexico-based WildEarth Guardians, in a statement. “It is possible there will be intimidation from militants who believe such actions are justified by this verdict.”
“This is an extremely disturbing verdict for anyone who cares about America’s public lands, the rights of native people and their heritage, and a political system that refuses to be bullied by violence and racism,” said executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity Kierán Suckling.
“The Bundy clan and their followers peddle a dangerous brand of radicalism aimed at taking over lands owned by all of us,” Suckling continued. “I worry this verdict only emboldens the kind of intimidation and right-wing violence that underpins their movement.”
The shocking verdict was met with cheers from supporters outside the courtroom, while events inside swiftly devolved into a brawl between Ammon Bundy’s lawyer and several U.S. marshals.
Oregon Live reports that after the verdict was read,
six to seven U.S. marshals surrounded Ammon Bundy’s lawyer as he stood before the judge, arguing and shouting for his client to walk out the door a free man. They tackled him and stunned him with a Taser gun. As [Marcus] Mumford yelled, “What are you doing?,” U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown ordered, “Everybody out of the courtroom!”
Ammon Bundy and his brother, Ryan Bundy, are still facing charges stemming from the family’s earlier armed standoff with federal officials in Nevada in 2014. Other militia members facing no further charges were left free to go after the verdict was announced.
Observers were swift to highlight the apparent hypocrisy of the government’s militant crackdown on peaceful Native American water protectors in North Dakota at the same time the across-the-board acquittal was handed down to the Bundy clan and their fellow right-wingers in Oregon:
Greg Dennis
@GreenGregDennis
Bundy Oregon thugs are acquitted while riot police remove peaceful, unarmed #NoDAPL protesters. What kind of country are we?
6:30 AM – 28 Oct 2016”
[ See more tweets here: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/10/28/unbelievable-right-wing-militia-found-not-guilty-after-armed-standoff-oregon ]
”Meanwhile, Indigenous activists pointed out that the militia in Oregon didn’t only threaten public officials and the wildlife refuge during their armed occupation, but the armed group also destroyed sacred sites and artifacts of the local Burns Paiute Tribe—just as Dakota Access Pipeline construction has done to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sacred sites in North Dakota.
“I was raised like this to know that it’s always going to be our land—no matter who owns it, it’s always going to be us,” Jarvis Kennedy, a councilman with the Burns Paiute Tribe, told NPR before the verdict.
“We’re the first people, and when everything’s done and said, we’re going to still be there.”
Kennedy added: “What if I did that with my Native brothers and sisters, and we went and occupied something, do you think we’d be let running around free, going in and out of it? No, we’d be locked down.”
CC-BY-SA 3.0: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/10/28/unbelievable-right-wing-militia-found-not-guilty-after-armed-standoff-oregon (Emphasis our own.)
In 1857: “The Mormons blocked the army’s entrance into the Salt Lake Valley, and weakened the U.S. Army by hindering them from receiving provisions.
The confrontation between the Mormon militia, called the Nauvoo Legion, and the U.S. Army involved some destruction of property and a few brief skirmishes in what is today southwestern Wyoming, but no battles occurred between the contending military forces.
At the height of the tensions, on September 11, 1857, more than 120 California-bound settlers from Arkansas, Missouri and other states, including unarmed men, women and children, were killed in remote southwestern Utah by a group of local Mormon militiamen. They first claimed that the migrants were killed by Indians, but it was proven otherwise. This event was later called the Mountain Meadows massacre, and the motives behind the incident remain unclear.
The Aiken massacre took place the following month. In October 1857, Mormons arrested six Californians traveling through Utah and charged them with being spies for the U.S. Army. They were released, but were later murdered and robbed of their stock and $25,000.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_War (Emphasis our own.)
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