Derided as "terrorists" by academic elites, a team of ranchers and supporters who took over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon say all they want is a life run by America's Constitution.
"Our purpose as we have shown is to restore and defend the Constitution that each person in this country can be protected by it, and that prosperity can continue," said Ammon Bundy, one of the leaders, at a news conference Monday. "That we will not forget about how important each person is and how that person has the right to live here on this Earth, and has a right to live in liberty and has the right to own property, and to be able the reap the fruits of their labors."
The aim of the organization now calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom is the restoration of an estimated 187,000 acres in the area of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to local control and productivity.
Their actions were tied to the pending jailing of ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond, who were convicted of arson for blazes they set to control noxious weeds on their property.
They each had served short prison sentences issued by a federal judge, but an appeals court ordered them to serve five-year terms. They promised, according to their attorney, to report Monday to a California prison.
The Hammonds had distanced themselves from the takeover of the office building at the refuge, but Ammon Bundy and his supporters insisted they were there for the duration.
They've blocked access to the site and said they won't become violent unless they are attacked. The FBI has said it is seeking a "peaceful resolution to the situation."
A reporter on the scene, Rebecca Boone, estimated there are two-dozen people involved in the movement, and they all are seeking a peaceful resolution.
A peaceful resolution was the outcome nearly two years ago at the ranch in Nevada of Cliven Bundy, father of Ammon Bundy. That conflict erupted when the federal government tried to confiscate Cliven Bundy's cattle over unpaid grazing fees.
Dozens of armed supporters showed up there, too, and eventually the government backed down.
Protesters in Oregon say local officials and interests should be making decisions regarding control of the land, not federal bureaucrats in Washington.
Cliven Bundy posted a statement on the Web suggesting a local sheriff should step in and resolve the conflict.
"The United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or authority within the state of Oregon, County of Harney over this type of ranch management," he wrote. "These lands are not under U.S. treaties or commerce, they are not article 4 territories, and Congress does not have unlimited power. These lands have been admitted into statehood and are part of the great state of Oregon and the citizens of Harney County enjoy the fullness of the protections of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution limits United States government."
He continued: "It is my suggestion, Steven Hammond, that you go and check yourself into Harney County jail asking for protective custody. It is my suggestion, Dwight Hammond, that you go and check yourself into Harney County jail asking for protective custody. It is my suggestion, Harney County Sheriff David Ward, accept these two ranchers into your jail, notify the United States Solicitor in Washington, D.C., that you have these two ranchers in Harney County jail, that they will remain there indefinitely under your protective custody and the protection of We the People of Harney County and We the People of the United States of America."
He said the ultimate arbiter would be a local grand jury.
The local sheriff, David Ward, has condemned the takeover of federal facilities.
But in his news conference, Bundy said it was time, given the federal government's growing appetite for power, "we make a stand to protect our human rights."
Ammon Bundy said the pressure on ranchers in the region has come from "multiple federal agencies."
"These agencies have desired for many years to acquire their ranch. … [T]he Hammond family have refused. They want to pass on the ranching heritage to their children, and their grandchildren."
He said the federal government deprived the ranchers of their water rights, even though the state of Oregon ruled it was theirs. And he said roads providing access to the family's ranchland have been closed.
"Because we have allowed our federal government to step outside the bounds of the Constitution, they have come down on the people," Bundy said.
ABC News reported local law enforcement officers were not at the scene, nor were they planning to go there.
The conflict moved into the open on Saturday at a rally in support of the Hammonds. Several supporters moved to the wildlife refuge to take over the office building.
Ammon Bundy contended that the Hammonds agreed to serve the rest of their sentences "because they just feel there's nothing else for them to do."
"They very well know that this is wrong, along with all their neighbors and the other ranchers in the area."
The White House sidestepped the issue of a takeover of a federal facility, saying it is a "local law enforcement matter."
The New York Daily News reported presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called on the ranchers to "stand down."
"We don't have a constitutional right to use force and violence and to threaten force and violence against others," he said.
Fellow Republican candidates Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also called for a law-and-order solution.
Ward, the local sheriff, charged that the move is an attempt to "overthrow the county and federal government."
But Ammon Bundy promised his crew would stay as long as needed to obtain justice.
WND reported an expert on the issue of conflicts over federal land ownership and regulations in the American West believes there's a cultural clash between the ranching community's economy and the bureaucrats making federal land-management decisions.
"Those sipping lattes, they have no clue how the ranching economy, the western economy works. They believe ranching destroys the environment, that ranching is a vestige of a bygone era," said attorney James S. Burling, litigation director of the Pacific Legal Foundation.
The Congressional Research Service documents that the federal government owns about 640 million acres of land, about 28 percent of the 2.27 billion acres in the U.S., mostly in the West and Alaska.
Of the 365 million acres in Alaska, nearly 220 million are owned by the feds, or about 60 percent of the state.
In Nevada, the feds control about 56 million acres, 81 percent of the state. In Utah, the feds control 63 percent of the state, Washington 27 percent, New Mexico 29 percent, Montana 29 percent, Wyoming 48 percent, Oregon 26 percent, Arizona 41 percent, California 40 percent, Colorado 35 percent, Idaho 61 percent.
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