Thursday, February 11, 2016

Oregon standoff: 4 holdouts all in FBI custody as occupation ends

Oregon Live | February 11, 2016




The four remaining occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge surrendered Thursday morning, bringing an end to the standoff on its 41st day.


Jeff Banta, Sean Anderson, Sandy Anderson and David Fry were taken into FBI custody.

Fry was the last to surrender, finally emerging after an extended phone dialogue with supporters who tried for over an hour after the others left to get him to walk out.

By contrast, the surrender of the others appeared to go off as planned.

FBI agents in armored vehicles had moved in Wednesday night on the four still at the refuge, hemming them into their camp and insisting they put down their guns and surrender.

Also Wednesday night, the FBI arrested Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy at Portland International Airport. He faces federal charges related to the 2014 standoff at his ranch. Bundy, 74, was booked into the downtown Multnomah County jail at 10:54 p.m.

His booking mug shot was released Thursday morning by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

Meanwhile, the surreal scene played out across social media.





With the Bundys and the Malheur National Wildlife occupation, America witnessed its first armed occupation in the kinetic, 140-character social-media age.

Updates:


11:46 a.m.: The Bundy family says on Facebook: "They are safe. Thank you God for watching over us. Keep us in your hand and deliver from this present evil," asreactions begin to come in.

11:41 a.m.: The FBI announces it will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in Burns to discuss law enforcement's next steps.

11:36 a.m.: Gov. Kate Brown speaks about the end of the occupation:
Gov. Kate Brown on the end of the Malheur occupationGov. Kate Brown on the end of the Malheur occupation

11:21 a.m.: The FBI puts out a statement that includes the following from Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney, District of Oregon: "The FBI brought three of the remaining Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupiers into custody without incident. At approximately 11:00 am, agents brought the fourth into custody without incident ... 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. ... 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."

11:15 a.m.: William Fry Jr., David Fry's father, texts to an Oregonian/OregonLive reporter: "We are all relieved our prayers were answered."

11 a.m.: Hall begins sobbing after Fry turns himself in. She and Seim then resume the dialogue surrounding their patriotic movement.

As the Oregon standoff holdouts considered their options Thursday for ending the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation by surrender or death, a prominent member of the Tea Party movement emerged as a leading voice on a live broadcast phone call attempting to talk the occupiers into surrendering. KrisAnne Hall, a prominent Tea Party figure who dubs herself a constitutional...



11 a.m.: Authorities say Fry is in custody. The standoff is over.

Watch as Fry is taken into custody:
David Fry walks into FBI custody after asking everyone to say ‘Hallelujah’A YouTube livesteam capturing phone conversations between last occupier David Fry talking to FBI agents and radio hosts captures the final moments as Fry leaves the refuge.

10:59 a.m.: Seim says it appears the FBI has cut off Fry's phone.

10:57 a.m.: Fry says he is coming out.

10:35 a.m.: Fry says he is speaking with an FBI agent.






Who is Gavin Seim?

Gavin Seim's stream on YouTube broke the news that the FBI had surrounded the four remaining armed occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, providing a real-time view of the tension at the refuge, where the occupiers joined by phone.



10:27 a.m.: Fry says he doesn't care about the movement anymore. That he's doing this for himself.






Who is David Fry?

The last remaining occupier in a 27-year-old from suburban Cincinnati who drove to Oregon while his parents were on vacation in Hawaii.

10:17 a.m.: Fry says he's pointing a gun at his head.

10:11 a.m.: Fry says his biggest fear is being raped in jail.

9:56 a.m.: Three of the four occupiers are in custody of the FBI. Jeff Banta, Sean Anderson and Sandy Anderson each face a federal conspiracy charge for their role in the occupation, joining 12 others already arraigned on that charge.

9:55 a.m.: Fry says he is declaring a one-man war on the U.S. government, saying he wants "liberty or death."

9:51 a.m.: The moderators continue to try to persuade Fry to leave.

9:48 a.m.: Fry says he is feeling suicidal.

9:45 a.m.: David Fry says unless his grievances are heard, he will not come out. The feed moderators, identified as Gavin Seim, who calls himself a constitutional activist, and KrisAnne Hall, a prominent national face of the so-called patriot movement, are encouraging him to follow through and leave the encampment.

9:43 a.m.: Jeff Banta is heading out, according to the feed.

9:40 a.m.: Sandy and Sean Anderson have been arrested, according to the refuge live feed.

9:38 a.m.: Sean Anderson says the occupiers are walking out.

9:34 a.m.: Sean Anderson says on the refuge's live stream that the FBI is telling the four remaining occupiers to come out one at a time.

9:15 a.m.: Blaine Cooper, a member of the core group that took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2, has been arrested, his wife wrote on Facebook on Thursday morning. Cooper's wife, Melissa Cooper, was also among the group occupying the bird sanctuary over the past month. Cooper said Friday that he had not been home since he left the refuge Jan. 26 after learning that Finicum had been killed at a law-enforcement roadblock. A spokeswoman with the FBI in Portland declined to confirm or deny that Cooper had been arrested Thursday morning.

9:03 a.m.: Bundy will make his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Bundy, 74, will appear on federal charges stemming from the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada.

8:40 a.m.: Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, a high-profile supporter of the Bundy family, said she and Christian evangelist Franklin Graham are traveling to the refuge. Fiore's trip to Oregon is in apparent response to a call from Ammon Bundy, who asked elected officials from across the West to come to the aid of the occupiers.

On her website, Fiore lists job creation, reducing business regulation and taxation and defending Second Amendment rights as among her priorities. She often displays her support for gun rights on social media. Last November, she promoted a 2016 calendar on Twitter that shows her with a firearm for every month of the year.



Follow the latest on Twitter: Oregonian/OregonLive reporters are tweeting updates from Burns:


Here is an overview of the refuge:





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