Independent Lens

When tyranny becomes law, then rebellion becomes necessity. One person has been out here for many weeks. They murdered an innocent man with his hands up like this. Don't be afraid to shoot the FBI, 'cause they're not the good guys.

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Contact front! Contact front!

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Go home! Go home! Go home! Go home! All of this, honestly, has scared me. Please go home. You're definitely seeking martyrdom if you're taking off down that highway. It almost demands blood sacrifice to justify itself.

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Oh, my God!

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"No Man's Land," now, only on Independent Lens.

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At this point, we were able to get into the refugee area before they ended up putting up stop points, checkpoints, not letting people in and out. But we do see this huge tractor here that the guys who have been and are still inside the headquarters here, still taking over those headquarters-- they have put that there in place to try-- at least eight people. One person has been out here for many weeks. There are also other folks who are still here, and they are not leaving, they say. Let me show you something about that. They have been out here on the Malheur Wildlife Refuge at--which is just over there, the headquarters, taking over those buildings there, and some of them just are not leaving. The man was unarmed. This is his pistol. This gentleman here is showing off his pistol that he has with him. He was totally unarmed when he was killed. At this point... - This is his gun. We still have not heard from police exactly how this turned violent, but we do know that they have blocked off some of the area, and we do not have word as to what they are going to do, but there is going to be a press conference a little bit later on today. Now, they murdered an innocent man with his hands up like this, shot him in the chest three times. I know he was unarmed because I'm wearing his

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pistol. Gunshots, guys. Sounds like a skirmish? Somebody's shooting somewhere.

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This is Armageddon now. They might kill us. They probably will kill us here, but we're just a few. There is many more. To G1. Where are you at, G1? Over. There's no fear here, 'cause I know. I know this is the right thing. Armed anti-government protesters occupying federal land at a national wildlife refuge and calling on militia members from around the country to join them. It started with a group of ranchers unhappy that two of their neighbors were sentenced to lengthy federal prison stints for starting fires on their own land. Their supporters first protested, and then a group broke off and decided to take control of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon. People ask me, "Jason, what was the plan?" The plan was, I'm going to have a First Amendment protest that cannot and will not be ignored. I'm asking you to follow me and go to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and we're gonna make a hard stand, okay? These are not federal lands. These are state lands. That's right. It is time to follow me. How far? - It's about 40 miles. Guys always talk about getting off the couch and doing something. "How come things in our country doesn't change?" Well, now's the time to stand up and make that stand and make your voices heard. Armed protesters have taken over several buildings at a wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon. There are no local police, no federal police, no police whatsoever in this area. We have basically taken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and this will become a base place for patriots from all over the country to come and to be housed here. We need you to bring your arms, and we need you to come to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. We have a white rancher truck coming up on your location, and it actually looks like a service truck. There's yellow lights on top of it. Can I get a description of the vehicle, please? Can I get a description of the vehicle, please? Roger. All your federal tax dollars and all the grant money goes to people being able to dig this crap right here. They find rocks, and they weave. That's what I want my tax dollars to go to. We don't have better stuff to focus on than to have federal grants go to people being housed in these huts, and there they all are, the basket weavers and everything like that. There's not starving people and veterans that need help and health care and all that stuff. No, we need wrapped rocks and basket weaving and this kind of junk. I've been writing about public lands conflicts for most of my life now. I went to the Malheur hoping to find an explanation for the rural rage that I had witnessed over two decades, and a plan. Even if I didn't agree with it, I wanted to hear it.

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Yeah, Harney County used to be the wealthiest county in the state. It's been diminished to the poorest, and it's because of fences like this. In the early days, everybody was confused. A lot of the media was there to just sort of chronicle the daily events. There were some of us probing and asking harder questions. You know, "Who are these people? Who organized this?" The Fish and Wildlife Service come and built this fence. They did not have authority to build this fence in the first place, and so we are removing it. I come from rural Utah, and what drove me out there is I understood this ranching culture and the community. Talk to you soon. Ammon's kind of the textbook definition of an organizer, of an activist. He's proven really adept at getting all of these little groups together on the same page. Ammon Bundy said that the refuge was an example of federal overreach, and now they have weapons, and they're making a stand. Whoo! 11 years in the Marine Corps. Three deployments to Iraq, but now I'm actually out serving my country. Are you planning on tearing any more fences down, or what can-- Perhaps. Perhaps. You know, that's--I can't answer "what if" questions. Don't know--don't know all the answers to those, so "what if" is the sky. Sure, but do you have a plan or is there-- Not completely. This is beautiful land. There is so much--so much feed that will do for America off of this. Why do we import a single-- a single beef? Why do we import a single thing of food when we're the greatest food-producing country in the world? We should be exporting, bringing wealth into our country. It makes no sense. This is a good day. Is it yummy? Yeah, dude. Barbecued pork, man, and chicken enchiladas. Yes. About time. He went right on the Y. Over. Roger. Yeah, we're just on duty, hon. Making sure everybody stays safe. We don't need a bunch of scared kids with guns by themself. Did I mention Burns is cold this time of year, honey? Make sure you tell people what I'm doing and why I'm down here. What was the reception like at the refuge? It was dark by the time we got there, you know, and I'm used to guns. Guns don't bother me. I grew up with them. And when we drove in, they just backed the cars out of the way. We went down, went into this building, and pretty soon Ammon Bundy came in, and like a typical rancher, he went around, shook everybody's hand, looked everybody right in the eye, and said, "Thank you for coming." We asked him why he came. He wanted to bring attention to the plight of Westerners. There's literally not enough private land in the West to have a viable operation. It's very difficult to ranch in the arid West. You got people on the edge, already, of profitability, and they're dependent upon the federal lease for all of their grazing. Ranching is not the economic engine that it was 50 years ago. Whenever your livelihood is put into jeopardy, and you have children especially, there's anger there. And it's often in rural America where opportunities to branch out are less. The Malheur Refuge became exhibit A of that anti-federal fury. We just come before you today, walking in your spirit, and we just thank you with your spirit through us, working through us, to do your work. Your people are still here working for you, and that this country has not been lost, that no matter what people in this land want to turn you away, that you are God and that you will never turn your back.

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Amen. So this--we are being-- you're lawful. You believe in laws. You're not anti-government. No, that's what we're doing here. You're not gonna find justice in a federal court. What are we to do? What are our people to do? You're asking for the rights, the God-given rights, already. That's right. And to be left alone-- just the harassment. We create government to protect against criminals. But when they start to do the things that criminals normally do, well, then that redefines them now as criminals. Amen. The Constitution is law. Who do I call when it's violated? Slowly over time, we lose more and more-- I mean, the Patriot Act, that's a pretty big piece of legislation that completely violated the Constitution and took every right of every single American in the country, and it passed with bipartisan support. Whoopee. It's terrible. I started with politics in Georgia, and I spoke out in my own hometown against spending $1/4 million on a Lenco BearCat vehicle, which was highly unnecessary. There's hundreds of these bought all across the country, and they're paid for by Department of Homeland Security. They said it was to protect police officers, so I did a public records request. I says, "I want to know every officer that's been injured by gunfire in the last 20 years." There was one who shot himself on the range, and a BearCat doesn't protect you from that. Thanks, but no tanks. I made Facebook friends with politically active people. I wanted to be heard. I wanted to speak truth to power. On the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. I wouldn't mind talking to my senators and congressmen, but I--but I already know that they don't listen to me, so we'll see what happens. Maybe they'll listen to me if I'm here where they live, trying to talk to them face-to-face. We'll see. We've protested, and nobody's listening. Nothing's changed, and nothing's happening. I went to Malheur because somebody's standing up for something, and I want to be there.

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A call went out across basically everybody's networks. He would get truckloads full of people just rolling in. Libertarian communities, militias, everybody that could be connected got, "Get your guns and come to Oregon. We're gonna need you," it said. Back up. Back up. You guys won't be allowed to come anywhere closer. This quickly became a stew of right-wing militants. They all had different motivations for being here, so it was hard to make a picture that made a lot of sense. The land here needs to be returned to the people of this county. The federal government's got to withdraw. Patriots ready to make a stand, this is a call to arms. I will stand, and I will stand till my last dying breath. If you're especially in the Pacific Northwest, you need to get out there. Whether you're armed or unarmed, you get up here. This is the time, and the place is Burns, Oregon. It's time to rise together, folks. You know, I guess during the whole event, I never lost sight of, "We can do this peacefully and end it peacefully." By the same time, the same token there, I think I have a double standard because I really was pushing, "End this, whatever it takes." I do believe they were looking for a confrontation with the federal government, so to line federal agents up out there, I believe would've been playing into that-- playing into their hands as far as that goes, or providing a confrontation or the spark they were looking for. We have what's referred to as a DPMS AR-15 5.56. This is what U.S. military generally are gonna be trained in some type of format with this type of weapon. This is gonna be referred to as a semi-automatic sporting rifle or an assault rifle. There's many weapons that fit into this classification. I would say that the definition of "assault rifle" would more or less be determined by who the user was that has the weapon. When it became apparent this was going to be a long siege, that attracted more and more media from around the country, around the world. I mean, you know, you got cowboys with guns taking over a bird sanctuary in the middle of the desert, screaming about American tyranny. Because I lived my life in the rural West, I have this kind of regional contempt for spectacle, and I didn't see that-- that skepticism applied by the media that showed up every morning to enjoy the "Ammon Bundy Show." Turn to us, please? Turn to us. Thank you. And call upon all those who love freedom to come and support this effort in the way that they feel they should. What exactly do you mean by that? How do you respond to critics that claim this is a terrorist organization or a violent extremist, you know, gathering here? How do you respond to that? - I say look around. Is there anything you can tell us about your plans to leave? We're gonna think about it, and then we'll get back to you guys. They understood how to use the media and how to present their best face. The gun-toting justice-seeking cowboy, the man of the land. We're beginning to try to prepare the transfer of this-- this to the Harney County-- it's the Harney County Resource Center. Did you see the sign as you came in? Yeah. - Did it look okay? Yeah, it looked great. Our objective is to pass the baton to the residents of Harney County so that they can have access to their resources so that we can go home. -

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is just thrown everywhere in this whole building. There's a brand-new kayak or a canoe just thrown on top of a pile of crap. These were all sort of scripted press events to keep them in the news and to help try and control the agenda. So essentially this is-- this is taxpayer dollars being spent and neglected. The goal is to recognize the fact that this-- our federal government does not own this land. It's owned by the citizens of Harney County and the citizens of Oregon. This is your land. This is Oregon. This is Harney County. It's not ours. I can't wait to get out of Dodge, okay, so-- but I will stay here. This property does not go back to the federal government. It does not return to the federal government. You know, if there's just one rancher that's saying, "Please help me," what about him? What about the one? And so thank you, and I will call it good at that. Thank you. Hey, boss. - Hey. Hey. Hey, LaVoy. - Good to see you. Before we split up, I have a-- a communication with NBC. I need to put you on live with them on the phone, okay? Okay, very well. LaVoy Finicum, a rancher from Arizona, very animated, had a good sense of media relations, sort of a "I'm gonna put my arm around your shoulder, and we're all in this together against those bastards." Finicum felt that his cultural heritage, his ability to be the person that he wanted to be, was under siege. This is part of my ranch. This grass, I own it. It's called my grazing rights, my forage rights, and these cows are fat and sassy and looking good, and we got a few more of my cows down under some trees down there. This is mine that I pay for, and that I fight every year to make my mortgage payment on. They claim that this is theirs, and I claim that the forage rights, the grass, is mine. Good people, what can we do? We've been voting. We've been donating money, and the candidates always promise to-- to stand up for freedom. Well, what did we do? We gave the Republican Party the House and the Senate. What have they done? Nothing, nothing. And you think we're gonna give them a Republican president, and they're gonna stand up on the Constitution and they're gonna--to require the federal government to live within the frameworks that we the people have given them, namely, the Constitution? It's not gonna happen. Finicum was indeed the icon, the brave cowboy, going against the despised federal power.

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American cowboy taking on the federal government, and the confrontation now getting violent. Rancher Cliven Bundy refused to pay rent to herd his cattle on government land, anti-government groups and armed militia members joining the fight. Finicum came to the Bundy ranch, and something there touched a nerve in him. People fell under the spell of the Bundy militancy during the initial confrontations. The United States government is operating with unlimited power over we the people of the State of Nevada. Government officials concerned for their safety pulled out, leaving Bundy and the protesters behind. The ranch standoff may be over for now, but the Bundy family is ready for round two. They had gotten all the iconic footage they needed in the cowboy hats and the horses, and LaVoy Finicum and the American flags confronting the federal agency and prevailing. They were emboldened for sure. The West has now been won!

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Yeah! Yeah! Yes! Yes! Yes! That's what I'm talking about! That's what I'm talking about! You have to imagine that you walked away from that experience thinking, "We can push the federal government around, and they're not gonna do a damn thing about it." "We embarrassed them in Nevada. Let's see how they handle Oregon." Is it just normal people here? Well, define "normal." Find me one normal people. I mean, we're Americans. We're not normal. We created the best country in the world and then forgot how to use it. My father fought in the Vietnam War and got cancer. I sat in the University of Washington Hospital as an eight-year old, and I remember asking, "Is it contagious?" "No, son, your dad's cancer isn't contagious. "He didn't get it from his dad, and you're not gonna get it from him." "Okay, then where did he get it?" "Well, he fought in a war called--in Vietnam, "and was sprayed with a chemical called Agent Orange, and that causes cancer." "Oh." Well, it made me a student of what the government will actually do. I studied the Vietnam War. I studied Agent Orange. I found out that they knew what it does and what it caused and decided to use it anyways. The government purposely did harm to my father. The only place that I'm gonna lose freedom in America is from the government. The fight is here. It's not anywhere else. It's here.

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I said I didn't want to credit Bundy. There's no way I could deny that the only reason this county-- and perhaps it's me representing this county-- has the limelight and has hold of the mic is because a bunch of armed thugs in our community gets enough limelight that we have-- I think I counted 13 film cameras here, so... We had no idea what Bundy's next move might be. He wasn't communicating, wasn't telling anybody what he was gonna do, and he did have arms everywhere he went. Made sense to close the school. In the small town of Burns, the nearest populated area, schools are closed all week, residents growing weary. Police have turned the high school into a makeshift command center. We got 40 or 50 guns, law enforcement, inside the building. We got 30 or 40 guys with masks on out in front of the building in the middle of, forgive me, but my town. And I'm thinking, "What are we doing?" I'm 15, and I'm a freshman in high school, and... Close your eyes. Go ahead, Ashley. Go ahead! You can do it. You can do it. Being here with all of this, honestly, it has scared me, and it shouldn't. I should not have to be scared in my own hometown. People felt like it was dangerous because it was. There were-- the people who coalesced around this occupation, you had no idea who they were or why they were so heavily armed. A lady at the grocery store one night just came up to me and said, "You know what I hate about this the most? "I keep wondering every time I see somebody if that's one of them." Never defined "them," but when we start worrying about who our neighbors are, that's an underlying fear that people shouldn't have to deal with. It became almost a town-versus-ranch attitude. Some of those in the ranching community very quickly adopted the Bundy occupation as a moment in the sun. I know some of these camera guys-- today we were moving cows. They bothered me more than the Bundys did. The ranchers are a dying breed. I don't need the federal government, Washington, D.C., telling me how to run my cows and how to take care of grass and rangeland that they have never seen. It's really nice to have somebody come in and say, "I'm gonna give you a face. I'm gonna make people see your efforts," but this is not the way. I agree, the Bundys need to go home now, but I don't think they need to run out-- to be run out of town as idiots and crazies. I think Harney County, to a degree, owes them a thank-you for taking a stand publicly that has needed to be made.

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Thank you. I wish I was a polished public speaker. I wish I was better at a lot of things. We've got some stuff to work through here. My goal is and has been from the beginning to find a peaceful resolution to this. There is an hourglass, and it's running, and time's gonna run out, so we need to work through this sooner than later. Please go home. Thank you.

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I can tell you, I felt like-- I felt wronged when I saw people... Waving the American flag around and breaking the law at the same time, screaming that they were patriots. You know, I did serve in Afghanistan, and I served in Somalia. I spent many years in an army uniform. They absolutely stepped out to show themselves as that domestic threat that I did swear an oath to protect the people from.

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If we snuck out of here today, and yet we started something that wasn't complete, yes, we want to go home, but we can't leave too soon. Your hourglass, okay-- your hourglass, I don't recognize your hourglass. We're on our timeline now, homey. Just don't forget about that. Amen, brother. They're shaking in their boots. Look at that-- that sheriff trembling. "I don't like speaking in public." You know what? If you're telling the truth, and you're on the side of good, you won't tremble in fear when you get in front of the public, will you? Pete Santilli set himself up as the press agent and the press department largely because he's a true believer, and when you're one of very few people doing something that you think is right and proper, it's awful easy to get on a crusade. How does this feel? - It feels good. Isn't it beautiful country up here? Oh, it is, yeah. - You feel unsafe? Yeah, I feel safe. Yeah, I mean--it's not an unsafe environment? There's nothing here to worry about that I can see. But tell us who you are, where you came from. Ron Aaronson family, we're from Colorado. We're delivering some oatmeal to show support for Ammon and the rest of the people here standing up to the government. Delivering some oatmeal. Right there where that flag is. The number of people that are coming forward is overwhelming at this point in time, and it's a beautiful thing to see, all right? What Pete was doing was giving people a front row seat, an unusual seat, to this sort of an event. Come in and sign our guest list, and I'll kind of show you around. Yes. Yeah, I got water, Gatorade, and soda. See what I mean? These guys eat a ton of food. Oh, my God, best bunch. Is it? - It is really, really good. There was a freshman debate team campout atmosphere at times. People were bringing groceries in and out, driving back and forth from the Safeway with loads of Kool-Aid and Hot Pockets, sharing cigarettes and stories. I'm here to help out. These guys got to eat. I have a family. You know, I eventually got to go back to my kids, but it's my duty right here to help out. They're plumbers and pipefitters and McDonald's workers and kind of all sorts, which was fascinating for me, because who else cares about mineral rights in rural Oregon besides ranchers? But it wasn't about ranching. They are losing ground, and real wages haven't risen, and nobody can get real work. And then Ammon Bundy shows up and said, "Yes, you have been getting gaslit for most of your life, and I can help you fix it."

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People weren't looking for answers. They were looking for a deeper immersion in anti-government militancy. When you are out of a job, when your 401(k) is crashed, the kids may not have shoes, but I am in the service of a larger good, that of American liberty. It's empowering for people who felt they were finally being listened to. I don't understand why those people in town have closed their schools and are frightened. We're not frightened. They're cowboys. Right. - They're one of us. That's what they are, yeah. Look at all these fine people protecting me. Duane. Look at Duane. He'd give his life for me. He'd give his life for me. He would too, and he would too, and I would take a bullet for him, but we're patriots. Now that I'm probably gonna lose my pension and disability, I'm not worried about that because I'm living in the love of a good spirit and a common people. It's fun when you get out there and you meet other Americans who realize the country's going crazy, and then--and you all sort of get together and there's a camaraderie. It's fun.

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We're here. We're here, and the brush fires of freedom, thanks to social media and thanks to media and...

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Just some freedom.

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The takeover of the refuge was the driving energy. Returning the federal lands to the states became the next thing, but as things unfolded, I could not find anyone who actually knew what it was they were opposing. They were opposing an idea of federal control of land and individuals, without recognizing that we had consented to governance at one point to solve specific problems which have overwhelmed other nations throughout history, and I think there was-- in the same way that the Trump campaign has done, there was an emphasis on how terrible everything was even while eating good food and carrying expensive weapons and driving fancy cars and trucks. I could not understand, given my experience in, say, Mexico or Central America, how these people could feel they were being tyrannized.

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We're in the process of removing the surveillance cameras that have been put up. What's that look like to you? Surveillance cameras... Look at that. - With no network! There are the cameras. This is United States federal government surveillance. Wow. - Welcome to America. Who's spying on us? Who's spying on us? Your federal government! - Why are they doing that? Because they serve the rich and elite class of this earth. Whoo! Let freedom ring! I for one am sick of being spied on. Perfect. I'm sure that they can just replace this and put it back to working. Yep, we got a lot-- Well, we'll take it down again. Take it down again. - And then take it down again. We're here for the long haul. All right, I'll bet you we can go down there and circle around, and whoever's leading out, tell me where to go next. You know, I don't know. I said it last time. A free people doesn't need to be watched. It was actually fairly surreal to see that this occupation was simply unfolding independent of any enforcement actions to stop it. Public support wavering as the militia is skewered online. The hashtags "Yallqaeda" and "Vanillaisis" picking up steam throughout the day, some complaining that the lack of law enforcement presence is a sign of a double standard. Did the world just start back in the 1860s when the first settlers came into this area? No. The FBI, they know what's going on. They know that you have these largely white militias, and they're carrying heavy artillery. You cannot convince me that federal law enforcement would react the exact same way if you were dealing with some folks who were Black Lives Matter activists. So it's day ten here. We have not seen any kind of law enforcement come in and restrict what these men are doing. You got to wonder if the lights are on or anybody's home down there at the Justice Department. Hello? I don't think there's anybody there. Do you fear that this could turn into something serious enough that you would not be able to return to your family? There's always that chance. Nobody--I'll tell you right now, though, nobody here will fire that first shot. To dispel any notion about whether we are violent extremists or anything like that, I'd just simply like to tally up a few numbers. There have been no gunshot fatalities or injuries, no shots fired in anger, not even an accidental discharge. The only circumstance that any gunshots would be fired is if the federals try to root us out of here. They would find out then that we are not playing. We're not gonna give an inch. There have been five warrants issued for their arrest, for Ammon's arrest, his brother's arrest, LaVoy Finicum's arrest, and they don't plan to accept those warrants, and they don't plan to go quietly. Right now underneath that tarp right there, LaVoy Finicum is sitting underneath that tarp, and he is not going to let them come through. The world's gonna know about what's going on here, all right? You guys are the most beautiful patriots, okay, the most honorable patriots that I've ever known in my entire life, and we're gonna make sure that they don't do any harm to you. And we're standing our ground. The occupiers kept having these false reports that the SWAT teams were coming, but I think there was an element that was looking to provoke something quite deadly. So you're prepared to die? Better dead than in a cell? Absolutely. Would you like to be in a cell? Nobody wants to live their-- live their life in a cell. Absolutely I'm not gonna live my life in a cell.

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It's gonna be a late night, but there's plenty of time for sleep in the grave. Some guys are like, "Listen, you gotta get "the women and children out of here. This is a war zone." And I'm like, "This is not a war zone. "This is Oregon. "We're in Oregon. "This is a First Amendment thing. You're amping up fear that doesn't need to be there." And they'd end up yelling at me, telling me I'm naive and I've never been to war, and I'm like, "Your mentality is completely wrong in Oregon." Contact front! Contact front! Contact front! Contact front! You have a malfunction. You have a malfunction. Get off the line of fire. How do you do that? Yeah, but what did I tell you about 320? Doesn't matter. Out of line of fire, grab, take control, take this, yank it up. Why do I do always this? Why do I do this? Why? Why do I teach you? So that we know for later. Why do I teach you? Me, you, this. I'm a father. I'm a son. I'm a husband. You will not get raped. Get down! Who are you? Down on the ground! - Who you got, ese? -

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Okay. It's either in the ready... - Who are you? Or it's in the ready-to-shoot position, that's it. Those are your two rifle positions, okay? Okay. - That's it. Down! - Ahh! Get down on your knees. Down on your knees. Keep your hands up. Don't move your hands. I missed him.

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The Lord is my light And my salvation Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear The Lord is the strength The strength of my life Of whom shall I be afraid Of whom shall I be afraid When the wicked Go home! Go home! Even my enemies and my foes Came upon me to eat up my flesh They stumbled and fell We are home! The Lord is our strength This is our home. We

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live here too. The strength of my life Of whom shall I be afraid We don't support you! We don't support you! Of whom shall I be afraid You guys are servants, public servants. Of whom shall I be afraid Of whom shall I be afraid Go home! Go home! Go home!

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We will not give up. We will not yield until the truth is out there and justice has been served. Thank you. Mr. Bundy, Mr. Bundy, when you went over to remove a fence separating BLM and-- I'm not talking about a fence right now. Thank you. Mr. Puckett said he did not give you permission. Do you have anything to comment? He did not give you permission, he said, to remove the fence. But not all the ranchers are agreeing with you, right? I have yet to find a rancher that has disapproved. Is there any way-- I haven't introduced myself. Are you guys driving down? My name is-- - You can talk to LaVoy. LaVoy is the one kind of handling the media. I would love to talk to you though. Ammon got really paranoid about three weeks in, and the daily statements became very boilerplate. As long as they had somebody to talk to, they weren't going anywhere, and there was no next plan. There was no next step. There's 712 people in the chat room right now. Wow. - What are they asking? What are they asking? People are wanting to know what the next big thing is and what's happening tomorrow. Is there any plans, or-- Oh, you want to know our plans, huh? Freedom and stuff. Yeah, freedom and stuff. - There's your answer. Do you think you will end up in prison over this? Not at all. Not at all. Nope. No, there's no prison for this. There's no prison for this. The government has two options, and that's lose or lose, so they get to decide how they lose. They can come in here and try to wax us like they've done over and over and over again, and I can tell you there's-- there's a nation that will not tolerate it, so the federal government can either start the second revolution, or they can concede and give up this land that they don't have jurisdiction over. That's right. That's the only two options they got. They lose, or they lose. I'm saying I see the lights, but does that not look like you see flashing lights out there going down the road, Ryan? I'm telling you, those are

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cop lights. Everybody was sure that the federal government, who has not shown their hand yet, were just beyond the fire line. Wherever dark was, wherever you couldn't see, that's where the feds were waiting.

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I don't believe that any of those folks thought they were gonna live that long. We're a very small agency here. Patrol-wise for the sheriff's office, we had myself and four deputies. We knew we were gonna need some help. I'm sick and tired of this freaking crap. Who wants to join me out at the FBI compound at the airport? Who wants to join me? - I'll go. We'll go. - Huh? Here. - You want to join me? Put a comment in the comment thread. You know what, you guys? It's time to let our fear go. It's time for us to stand shoulder to shoulder. And you know what? I'll stand there. FBI, you can bring your freaking guns and put a freaking bullet right here. Put a bullet right here. I'll take that first bullet, you disgusting, filthy, freaking-- ugh! Oh, my God. You piss me off so bad. Fear and intimidation upon this community is intolerable. And that's what they're doing. You filthy pigs. Let's surround it. I'm not afraid of you, FBI. You can't even kill what I got coming at you. You can't even kill it.

The sheriff come here at 2

00? Has he shown up yet? No. - Huh? We have a couple sheriff's vehicles. I don't think the actual sheriff's here. Okay, waiting for the sheriff, and he's in my chain of command, so I can have you guys kicked out of here, so-- We're not gonna get kicked out of here. Pardon me? We're not gonna be kicked out of here. Well, it's not my decision. It's gonna be his. It's not his decision either. I'm sure it is. - Oh, it is. Oh, it is. It is. You'll find out. - Okay. You'll find out. - All right. Okay? - Yep. Be constitutional, dude, I'm gonna tell you that right now. Be constitutional, or I'll pull the

bleep

The sheriff come here at 2

trigger right now. Don't threaten. Okay? I'll pull the

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The sheriff come here at 2

trigger. Don't--what's that? - Do not threaten. It's not a threat. I said be constitutional. If you consider that to be a threat-- That's a threat? Be constitutional! And that's not a freaking threat! Yeah! Come talk to me. Don't be afraid of me, okay? I said be constitutional. You found it to be a threat. Come look me in the eyes, all right? That wasn't a threat, dunderhead. You

bleep

The sheriff come here at 2

meathead. Hey, dunderhead, come up here. Come here. Come talk to me. Come here. Yeah, we'll talk to you. You guys will? Pete Santilli. Hey, I'm John. How are you? Hey, John, pleasure to meet you. Yeah, likewise. Hey, what's your name? I'm Dallas. - Dallas? You guys know what we're doing here, right? Yes, a protest. - Peaceful protest. If this guy shows up at that camp, it's gonna be a disaster. You're former military. I am. I'm with the United States Marine. Absolutely. - Marine Corps myself. Yes, sir. - And one thing I would say-- we've got a lot in common here, and we can resolve this. It can be resolved peacefully, and we're all Americans, and the First Amendment is a great way to resolve this. Copy of the U.S. Constitution for your pocket. Thank you. I'll stick it right-- It's a good read. I'll put it in my pocket. Thank you. You're welcome. - Sir? Yes, sir. - Can I get your card? Semper fi. - Semper fi, man. You know what I'm talking about, right? Come out and talk to him. Why's the sheriff not speaking to these people? Go out there, you can go get freaking soup in the kitchen. He can come and go freely. No harm is gonna come to you. You know that, right? Can I drive one of you guys out there? We can pass that on, that you're-- Can I--I will come personally. I will personally guarantee the safety of you and the sheriff. I'll drive you out there and have a cup of soup with you guys. It'll be resolved like that, okay? These are good patriots. Don't harm any one of them, okay? Please don't harm any one of them. Actually, I'm demanding that you don't harm any one of them, and that's not a threat. Please don't do that. I'm begging you. Does that sound like a fair demand, "Don't harm anybody?" Right? Nobody will harm you. We don't want any harm to you guys. We want you to join us. Thank you very much. Nice meeting you. Thank you, sir. - Thank you. Any time you guys want to come by, man, really, you can come by and talk to us no problem, all right? All right.

camera shutters clicking

The sheriff come here at 2

It's time for everybody in this illegal occupation to move on. There doesn't have to be bloodshed in our community. If we have issues with the way things are going in our government, we have a responsibility as citizens to act on those in an appropriate manner. We don't arm up. We don't arm up and rebel. We work through the appropriate channels. This can't happen anymore. This can't happen in America, and it can't happen in Harney County. Thank you.

applause

somber music

The sheriff come here at 2

More than anything, I want to be with my family. I do not want to be up here having to deal with this, but if you do not spearhead this and take a stand, it's going to set a new precedent across the U.S. They get stronger and think they can continue to go around and bully we the people. But when we unite, and you take that stand... There's no stopping us. It was time to go home. They chose not to do that. I was willing to not charge them locally if we could find a peaceful resolution to the problem. What, um--I couldn't make them any promises as far as federal charges. I'm very certain there were gonna be consequences. You can't mount up an army, invade a small community, and take over federal buildings without expecting at least a timeout, so... I think that the opportunities were there to go. The olive branch was offered. It was rejected.

tense music

The sheriff come here at 2

And we are beginning to see an enhanced police and FBI presence all around the town of Burns and on the highways leading to it from the nature reserve. Checkpoints with Oregon state police posted alongside them are being erected, and the question continues to be asked, "What steps will law enforcement actually take "to clear the refuge of what has now, again, "been over three weeks of illegal militia presence here in eastern Oregon?" Containment roadblocks are now in place. If the people on the refuge want to leave, they're free to do so. I want to share my promise to the citizens of this county, to the people who live here, who work here, who are raising their families here, that we will continue to look for safe, peaceful procedures on how to bring this to a peaceful conclusion. When tyranny becomes law, then rebellion becomes necessity, and it has become necessity. We're tired of the tyranny of our overbearing, overstepping, and corrupt-as-hell government from the city officials all the way up. Mr. Obama, this one is for you. Yeah. I see a day coming if we don't make that stand, that this right here, what's happening right here, will not be allowed. That the government is gonna come up with a system of religion that will have to be followed, or yeah, you will be put in jail for that too. Mm-hmm. I see it coming unless we stand, and we-- it's our choice. My friends here are protected, Lord, from all sides, Lord, against the enemy, the enemy seen and the unseen, Lord, and whatever you need to do. We will not surrender. - Amen. Victory is our only option to restore the republic. Amen. - Amen. To the republic!

all

Amen. They might--they might not shoot if you got a camera. Okay. Hey, this is one camera that might-- Doesn't matter. Everybody needs to get the

bleep

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out. They won't shoot with a camera! Remember Bundy? - Just--dude, you're done! Remember Bundy! You got to see-- you got to see this town. The town looks like a freaking-- it looks like a FEMA camp down here. You guys'll get down here, but they got cops everywhere. They're pulling people over. They're pulling little old ladies over with two or three car units. They are literally trying to show a use of force. All you guys be careful, all right? Yes, sir, you too. - Thanks, bro. You bet, man. Talk to you later. All right. That's gonna be routine. Well, we can't allow it to be routine. Tower, this is Clooney. Call out the vehicles inbound. Two vehicles on the main highway.

indistinct radio chatter

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We got two more vehicles coming in. This is back gate. Can I get a radio check? Don't be afraid to shoot the FBI, 'cause they're not the good guys in this case. No. They're the evil ones. Nobody comes through that gate. They get shot if they come through that gate. I don't know how it's gonna work, babe, but just pray to God. I've been praying. I've been praying too, sweetheart. After the feds showed up, it occurred to them that this wasn't a game. They became aware that they needed a win. They needed a win. They were certainly looking to export the message that they had used as their anchor to take over the refuge, and when they heard of a willing audience that would help legitimize their concerns, I think for them it was a no-brainer to go up to John Day. Even the media interest had been falling away, and so they had to shift to reinvigorate the spectacle with a, you know, a classic run, you know, for support.

Friday at 7

00, we will be going into town and holding a meeting with the community to explain to the community when we'll be leaving. Any questions before I go back? LaVoy, if you're going into town, do you have concerns about your security, about Ammon's security? I certainly hope not. I think that-- I think that-- I hope not. I hope not. Most of the leadership of the occupation got in a convoy up to John Day, which was gonna be about a hundred-mile run from the refuge. Law enforcement knew where they were gonna be going. They had made no secret about it, and they were very public about their plans to go up to a meeting in Grant County. That's probably one of the best places that we could've ever come up with for-- for attempting to take them into custody. A 60-mile stretch of vacant roadway with snow banks on the sides. It makes sense that if you're gonna attempt a traffic stop to do it there, without any chance of something going wrong and innocent bystanders being harmed. It should have gone peacefully, but you know, we have to live every day in a society around people where we depend on what's in the hearts of other people on how our day ends. You're definitely seeking martyrdom if you're taking off down that highway, armed, in the face of all those federal warrants. The kind of certitude that was professed there, it almost demands blood sacrifice to justify itself.

sirens blaring

intense music

Friday at 7

I've got Ryan Bundy in here. This is LaVoy Finicum. I'm going to meet the sheriff. The sheriff is waiting for us. You want to shoot me? You shoot me. What for? Why are we getting out? You want out? - What for? Why are we getting out? - Who are you? Yeah, who are you? Who are you? Who are you? - Oregon State Police. Oregon State Police. - Okay. There's no service here. - I know it. They know it. There's no service here at all. You should never have stopped. Should never have stopped. - I'm gonna keep going. And we're gonna have to duck. What are they gonna do with Ryan? If we take off... - We need to get Ryan back. What are they gonna do, shoot your tires out? I'm gonna go. You guys ready? Okay, get down. - Then you duck down. Give me that camera. Okay, give me this camera. Go. Gun it. Are they shooting? - Gun it. Careful.

gunshots

Friday at 7

Stay down. - Okay, they're shooting. Hang on. - Stay down.

glass shatters

Friday at 7

Go ahead and shoot me.

gunshot

Friday at 7

They had planned to. - Get him on the ground! Stay down, stay down. Stay down. -

yells

Friday at 7

Stay down. Stay down. - Gonna have to shoot me. Gonna have to shoot me.

gunshots

Friday at 7

Damn it. Are they shooting him? Did they shoot him? - Yes. You ass

bleep

Friday at 7

.

gunfire

glass shattering

Friday at 7

Oh, my God! Stay down. - I can't get out. Is he dead? - Don't get out. I'm an EMT! I need to help him, I'm an EMT! Stop it. - Let me out! Are you hit? - No, I'm an EMT! I'm gonna help him! - No, hold on, hold on.

gunfire

Friday at 7

They're shooting. Don't do anything. Where the hell is LaVoy? Is he on the--

gunfire

Friday at 7

I can't see. - Let me help him! Shut up. Stay down. Oh, God. Stay down. Stay down. Can we just surrender? Come out the left side door. Okay, from the left side, let's get out. Okay. - That's you, Ryan. I don't know if you can get out. You get out first. Let her out first. Let her out first. You go first, you go first. Please don't shoot me. - Put both hands out. Both of you, both hands out. Okay, I can't get my hands out. Okay, get out. - Let the man first. The man first. - Okay. No, she--Ryan first. You're first, Ryan. Put your hands up! - Hands up, hands up. Hands up. - LaVoy's down. -

bleep

Friday at 7

. Okay. Walk to the back of the truck. Okay, go.

indistinct shouting

Friday at 7

Okay, hands up. Go, go, go.

indistinct shouting

Friday at 7

Keep your hands up.

tense ringing music

Friday at 7

The leaders of the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge are now in custody. One person's been confirmed killed after a shootout, and the leader of the armed group has been arrested along with seven others. LaVoy Finicum was reaching for a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun when state troopers opened fire. At the refuge, there are still some militia members there, but what their fate is going to be is still unclear. Jason? - Yeah. NBC. How you doing, Jason? There was people who had fled. All the reasonable people, for lack of a better word, had been arrested, and at that point fear had taken over. Jason Patrick. - Nice to meet you, man. Can we put this on there, on you? I think we're all gonna want to talk to you. -

sighs

Friday at 7

So if you could say and spell your name again, sorry. Jason Patrick. J-A-S-O-N P-A-T-R-I-C-K. Okay, and what's your role here, sir? I'm an American. With this organization and what's here--I don't know. Is there a title you have or a-- American. - Okay. Yes, sir. What is your response to this-- it's been a really terrible thing that's happened. What's your response to that, sir? I'm sorry that this happened. I know this is a terrible situation. Well, peaceful resolution, and now a man is dead. What do you want people to know? That the government killed that man. Thank you for talking to us. - Yes, thank you very much. Thank you. So there's lights coming. You think it's them?

indistinct chatter

sirens blaring

Friday at 7

The holdouts knew that the Bundys had been arrested and that LaVoy Finicum had been killed. The Pied Piper's gone. The leadership is gone. There was no grand heroic cowboy stand for individual liberty and the right of the people. And all of a sudden you find yourself bereft-- bereft of all the things that you claim to be living your life for, and then your freedom.

gentle music

Friday at 7

The Bundys are caught in a utopian urge. The militants saw a fantastical golden age of the cowboy when men were men and justice was served and the cows went to Abilene and were paid off in gold. And that simply isn't-- I mean, it's really not true. But I think most of us have a fantastical golden age in our imagination. I've been released to the custody of my mother, so I--you know, I'm imposing on her here at her house, and you know, I'm trying to get some Internet connection so I can go back to what I was doing where I study different things that are happening in the country and watching the news, and I got a mess of papers all over here on the floor, and... this one I collected myself. It doesn't have anything to do with our case, but I found it really interesting. So that's 1967, when the Black Panthers were protesting inside the state Capitol with firearms. Yet nobody got shot or anything like that. Now, since then, you can't do that, but, you know, that-- you know, it's basically some pissed off people trying to get their voice heard. They didn't have many rights, and nobody was listening, so what'd they do? They carried their guns inside the state Capitol and said, "Hey, y'all better listen," right? And good came of it. Can I say it was a direct result of that particular event? No, but that's the beginning of something.

horn blaring

Friday at 7

I'd say there's about 25, 26 people down here. We've got most of our signs out. There might be a hung jury in this case, but we don't-- don't know that for sure. The jurors should be leaving anytime. We're waiting on them to come out of the courthouse any moment, so-- Damage of property for Duane. Jake got damage of property. - Damage of property, Jake. Duane not guilty conspiracy. - Yes! Duane not guilty conspiracy.

crowd cheering

Friday at 7

Yes! Not guilty of conspiracy. Not guilty... We won!

cheering

Friday at 7

I'm headed home to go ride my pony for a couple months, and then I'm gonna take my mom fishing, and that's about it. Not guilty! Not guilty, you guys. Not guilty. - Not guilty! We win. How did the jury reach this surprising decision? If you ask the jurors, they basically said the prosecution, they were sort of arrogant and sped through their case, and they failed to prove that there was a conspiracy to impede federal workers. Jurors asked why couldn't the prosecution have brought criminal trespass or destruction of property, and they were told by the judge that some of the other charges would be misdemeanors, and it wouldn't bring much significant penalties. Ammon Bundy testified for ten hours. The prosecution only cross-examined him for 15 minutes maximum. Didn't ask anything about Ammon Bundy's interpretations of the Constitution, or if he did, it was just poking fun at it. It opened the door to the Bundys getting to talk about who they were and why they believed they were doing what they were doing, and that may have been very persuasive to the jury. Not guilty! Yeah, I think that Oregon made a huge statement by saying this is a white utopia and we're not changing that no time soon. 2016. 2016. I think they got a statement known to the world. This is Trump country all day. Trump country all day. Deplorable. This case made it all the way through our court system. They were tried by a jury of their peers and found not guilty. That's our system, and I stand by it. This community, it's gonna heal, and hopefully it's the last time we deal with anything on this scale. I urge everybody to get in contact with your other patriots and mobilize and work together and go to your county commissioner's meetings and your city meetings, all of it. Just show up. Become involved. LaVoy's time ended right here... Yeah. And his message stopped right here, and I think it's our duty to take that message and continue it down that road to those people that were willing to listen... - Amen. And down that road, and down that road, and down that road. - Let's go. They think they've stopped us by using force? I think they've started it. - Yeah! Yeah! You know? I think they just opened a can of worms! Yeah! - Whoo!

cheers and applause

Friday at 7

God bless America! We've allowed intellectually gated communities to thrive as never before, to select a social group of those who only agree with us, and then assemble a flash mob in some remote place where we will manifest our beliefs. I think there's a responsibility for all Americans to do what I'm doing. I have absolutely no regrets at all. None. Zero. If we choose to base our decisions on the echo chambers, on the rage radio fantasy, those places are highly unlikely to deliver us the outcomes that we desire.

overlapping chatter

Friday at 7

We can see it already, leaders who harness the energy of our dissatisfactions followed over the cliff of unreality, no plans. You cannot operate a democratic republic on fantasy. And if you get enough people who have lost faith in reality enough to gamble... We all go over the cliff. Go home! PBS Your Home for Independent Film