Oregon governor blames feds for response to Bundy occupation

BY CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2016, 7:27 AM

MOLLY J. SMITH/AP

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said that residents in her state have been "overlooked and underserved" by federal authorities' response to the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

The governor of Oregon blamed federal authorities for their handling of the weeks-long armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in her state.

“The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials’ response thus far,” Democratic Governor Kate Brown said at a news conference Wednesday.

Brown, along with local residents, has become increasingly frustrated as anti-government protesters led by rancher Ammon Bundy enter their 20th day with control over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near the east Oregon city of Burns.

In her news conference she repeated calls for the occupation to end its encampment immediately, but also took issue with national officials, who have told her not to speak about the situation to avoid escalation.

The governor said in a speech broadcast on Oregon Public Radio that her state is spending about $100,000 per week dealing with the problem, and asserted that she would ask the federal government for reimbursement.

She said, “This spectacle of lawlessness must end, and until Harney County is free of it, I will not stop insisting that federal officials enforce the law.”

RICK BOWMER/AP

Ammon Bundy (c.) and his fellow occupiers, who are protesting federal land policies and the imprisonment of two local ranchers for arson, have faced increasing calls to leave from locals.

Despite the presence of state and federal forces in the area, the occupiers have been able to come and go from the federal land and resupply.

Bundy, who is from Arizona, and his crew are protesting the imprisonment of two ranchers from the state on arson charges, as well as federal land policies.

However, even locals who agree with his political motivations voiced strong opposition to the continued occupation during a community meeting on Tuesday that the armed group’s leader attended.

With News Wire Services

cbrennan@nydailynews.com