No Bail for Bundy

A federal judge ordered Ammon Bundy and other leaders of the armed militia in Oregon to remain behind bars without bail at a hearing in Portland.

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n a packed courtroom hundreds of miles away from the wildlife refuge that rightwing protesters first seized on 2 January, prosecutors argued that the militia protesters were “flight risks” given their well-documented criminal activities and anti-government statements over the past month.

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In a request that the judge deny the occupiers’ bail, prosecutors cited Ammon Bundy’s disdain for the federal criminal justice system in an August 2015 Facebook post in which he wrote: “There is no justice in a federal court. The feds have used the courts to take rights not protect them.”

  

Fine. Argue that they are criminals, but since they have a right to free speech, you shouldn't be allowed to use anti-government statements against them.

The suspects are all accused of impeding federal officers from discharging official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats – facing a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

Is that all? If they're eligible for parole, shortening that time, I hardly think allowing them out on bail would be much of a risk. Except for LaVoy Finicum, who said he would never be taken to jail, and he's dead.

“It is not that we don’t respect the government,” Ammon Bundy said during the hearing. “In fact, it is just the opposite. I’m a federalist … My only desire is to protect freedom.” He also argued that the protest wasn’t violent: “There was never an armed standoff.”

Respect for the government should not be a requirement.  But, actually, there was an armed standoff from the beginning, and it's ongoing.

In the case of Shawna Cox, a 59-year-old occupier from Utah and the only woman who has been charged, Beckerman agreed to release her on bail – once the occupation ends.

I need more information. Is that solely because she's female? If so, that's an abuse of power.

At the refuge, one of the remaining occupiers, 27-year-old David Fry, posted another video update on Friday demanding that they be “pardoned” before they surrender.

Good luck with that.

This is the guy who was ranting in a post-arrest video, telling people to come and fight. "This is a free for all Armageddon! ... If they stop you from getting here, KILL THEM!"

Not helping the cause.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Thar She Blows

I was just wondering what was going on up in Oregon...

[Amon] Bundy and several fellow occupiers were pulled over Tuesday on Highway 395, a law enforcement official said. According to The Oregonian, they were headed to the city of John Day, where they were set to participate in a community meeting set up by local residents.

Everyone obeyed orders to surrender except two people: LaVoy Finicum and Bundy's brother, Ryan Bundy, the official told CNN.

Shots were fired, but it's unclear who fired first, the source said. Ryan Bundy was injured, and Finicum died.

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Finicum was one of the most outspoken occupiers who took over the refuge near Burns on January 2 to protest federal land policies.

Earlier this month, the father of 11 told CNN he doesn't want to die -- but would never go behind bars.

"I'm just not going to prison," Finicum said. "Look at the stars. There's no way I'm going to sit in a concrete cell where I can't see the stars and roll out my bedroll on the ground. That's just not going to happen. I want to be able to get up in the morning and throw my saddle on my horse and go check on my cows. It's OK. I've lived a good life. God's been gracious to me."

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"It appears that America was fired upon by our government," the occupiers said on the Bundy Ranch Facebook page. "One of liberty's finest patriots is fallen. He will not go silent into eternity."

The occupiers also claimed Finicum had his hands in the air when he was shot.

  KTVZ

UPDATE:  One of the militia's members who was actually there says Finicum "charged" officers.

LaVoy Foster-Kids-Are-My-Main-Source-of-Income (One Cowboy's Stand for freedom) Finnicum is now a hero to many. Perhaps the FBI should have followed the SEAL's lead and dumped the body in the sea. (Or did they?)

FBI officials said they arrested Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy, Bryan Cavalier, Shawna Cox and Ryan Payne on Tuesday afternoon after they stopped them along the highway.

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The man who died was identified by his daughter as Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, one of the main spokesmen for the group. Police did not confirm his identity, but said the person killed was “a subject of a federal probable cause arrest”.

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Reached by phone Tuesday night, Cliven Bundy, Ammon’s father, who led a standoff with the federal government in 2014, said he was devastated by the reports.

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He added, “We’re not going to put up with this … This is a pretty big deal for America. This is the way they treat people who try to help? We are tired of the abuse.”

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At 6.30pm PST, FBI officials also arrested Pete Santilli, a conservative Ohio radio host who has been a vocal supporter of the Bundys and was earlier live-streaming the chaos outside of a hospital in Burns.

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[All those arrested are] facing federal felony charges of conspiracy to impede officers through the use of force, intimidation or threats.

  Guardian

Surely Santilli wasn't arrested simply for live-streaming. Then again...this IS America.  It's not clear, but it looks to me like he might have been arrested to be silenced.

Jon Ritzheimer, another prominent occupation leader who often helped run the militia’s “security” team, was also arrested late Tuesday night. Officials say Ritzheimer turned himself in at a police department in Peoria, Arizona, and that he was arrested without incident. He is also facing a federal felony charge.

No! The guy who videotaped a farewell to his family saying he was willing to die for the cause gave himself up?*

[Harney County Judge Steve] Grasty said he couldn’t say yet whether the standoff was over. “I don’t know that it’s over. I have no idea what is happening at the refuge.” He added: “I’m glad to see this winding down, but we wanted this to come to a peaceful end and it didn’t.”

Are we sure it's winding down and not winding up?

BI officials told those still at the compound, about 30 miles southeast of Burns, that they were free to leave and should do so. By midnight, few people appeared to have taken up the offer and the lights were still on.

Authorities provided no information about the roadblocks, but have scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Burns.

Only a few people had left, said Gary Hunt, who arrived Sunday from California to support the occupation. "The rest have decided they're going to hold their ground," he said.

  Oregon Live

In the meantime, Operation Mutual Defense, a network of militias and patriot sympathizers, issued a call on its website for help at the refuge. The post was written by Gary Hunt, a board member from California who has expressed support for Timothy McVeigh, who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City and had ties to the patriot movement.

"You have an obligation to proceed to the Harney County Resource Center (the wildlife refuge) immediately," Hunt wrote. "If you fail to arrive, you will demonstrate by your own actions that your previous statements to defend life, liberty, and property were false."

  Oregon Live

I wonder why they were arrested this time and not earlier. They've been to other meetings.

*

Jon Ritzheimer, one of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupiers, posted a video to his Facebook page Tuesday that was prefaced with the following message: "I came home to visit my family. The Feds know I am here and are asking me to turn myself in. I need an attorney so I can get back to my girls. Please help my family. Donations can be made at www.rogueinfidel.com to help with legal fees. Thank you all in advance. I just want the country to live by the Constitution and I just want the government to abide by it."

  Oregon Live

From "I'm here to die" to "Please help me." Wuss.  You got yourself into this mess, bud.  don't be whinging about it now.

And, in case that didn't do it for you, he's videotaped himself "saying goodbye" to his daughters.  ("The video had been viewed 14,000 times, as of 9:05 p.m."  -- Oregon Live)

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

A Not-So-Well-Regulated Militia

Joe Oshaugnessy, an Arizona militiaman, has been actively seeking volunteers through social media to join the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

But his friends tearfully announced that Oshaugnessy, who is known as “Capt. O,” had left the refuge Wednesday and was instead staying at a motel nearby — as some others associated with the militants have apparently been doing, according to sources.

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The militants have been allowed to come and go freely from the nature preserve in the absence of a law enforcement presence, but at least one of them, Brian “Booda” Cavalier, failed to return after a newspaper report revealed he had lied about serving in the U.S. Marines.

Oshaugnessy had apparently argued with some of the participants about the presence of women and children at the wildlife refuge, where militants apparently hoped to draw federal agents into a gun battle.

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Maureen Peltier, a disabled National Guard woman who claims to be the group’s official spokeswoman [...] said [Jon] Ritzheimer [of video fame and who also has a business where he sells anti-Islam T-shirts] had confirmed that Oshaugnessy had kept the money he had raised through social media for himself and had spent at least some of it on a drinking binge.

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[H]e’s f*cking pissed, he’s mad, he’s upset,” [another militant, Cai] Irvin said. “He told me to tell all of you that Joe Oshaugnessy is a deserter and a coward.”

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Oshaungnessy, meanwhile, wrote on Facebook that a “smear campaign” had been launched against him.

  Raw Story

Another key figure, Blaine Cooper [...] is fond of running around wearing all the military gear he can find, giving the impression that he is also former military personnel, but he’s a big-time phony as well. Although he did sign up for the Marines at one point, the Department of the Navy has confirmed he never showed up for training and was never in the Marines.

  Daily Kos

Ah, yes. Blaine Cooper, who asked for snacks, setting off a wonderful internet meme.

He caught the attention of real military personnel at the website This Ain't Hell after he was repeatedly referred to as a U.S. Marine in an interview in 2014. Cooper defended himself saying he didn’t want to correct the interviewer during a live broadcast and embarrass the broadcaster. That doesn’t stop Blaine Cooper (also known by his original legal name Stanley Blaine Hicks) from sharing a lot of photos of him playing dress-up soldier on his Facebook page. [emphasis added]

Violence broke out at the Bundy compound Wednesday night between its militant occupants and members of an outside group whose leader says he wants to get women and children out of the compound.

Lewis Arthur, who leads a group called Veterans on Patrol and calls himself an anti-violence patriot, arrived Wednesday afternoon with a small crew.

By Wednesday night, one of Arthur's three-person crew was in the hospital, his eye blackened from a punch to the face.

In an interview Thursday, Arthur blamed the injuries on Blaine Cooper.

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Arthur said Cooper punched him in the back of the head, then attacked his comrade, who goes by the name of J Dog. The group retreated, and J Dog went to the hospital.

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Jason Patrick, another participant in the refuge standoff, tells a different story.

In a Facebook post Thursday morning, he said Arthur initiated the scuffle when he "assaulted a guard" in an attempt to enter the compound.

In an interview, refuge occupier Jon Ritzheimer said the guard was shoved aside, causing him to bloody his hand when he collided with his truck.

  Oregon Live

Where is Ammon Bundy in all this?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.