Oregon Governor and Newspaper Demand End to Refuge Occupation

At a press conference Wednesday, the governor said federal officials “have told to her to limit her public comments to avoid escalating the ongoing occupation at the refuge near Burns,” Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

But that didn’t stop her from finally speaking out.

“Federal authorities must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable,” Brown 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,” said Brown, a Democrat. 

There have been several public demonstrations in Oregon and elsewhere in the Northwest opposing the occupation –– now in its 20^th day –– by bird, hunting, fishing, hiking and outdoor enthusiasts.

The governor said the occupation of the refuge complex, which began Jan. 2, is “intolerable” and said federal authorities must find a quick resolution.  

The governor, who’s a Democrat, said she’s been in touch with both the White House and the Justice Department regarding the conflict, but she didn’t provide specifics.

“The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials' response thus far,” Brown said at a news conference in Salem, the state’s capital.

The occupation is costing about $100,000 a week in additional law enforcement and related expenses for Harney County, the ninth-largest county in the nation, which only has five deputies. The governor said she will ask the federal government to reimburse the county and state for those expenses.

Meanwhile, the state’s largest newspaper, The Oregonian, published an editorial in today’s editions saying “it’s time to pull the plug” at the refuge and put an end to the “coercive, illegal action” by Ammon Bundy and his armed “gang.”

The editorial noted that one of Bundy’s associates, Arizona rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, said earlier this week, “This is not just a little occupation [but] a movement that's taking place across the country.”

Finicum said other activists from the West are scheduled to arrive at the refuge later this week for “a signing ceremony to throw off the overlordship of the federal government.”

Then, “as if to underscore his gang's resolve [Finicum said]: “We will not back down. These buildings are very symbolic.... We're holding (them as) the federal government's fortress. We shall not give it up to them ever,” the editorial said. 

“Unchecked disregard for federal law and public property, combined with cunning media manipulation, rewards delusional behavior among people whose lives are otherwise spent enjoying discounted grazing rates on lands own by American taxpayers,” the editorial said.

The newspaper said a “sustained tolerance for the occupation at this point won't do,” and it called for “measured but aggressive actions” including shutting off electrical power and stopping other ranchers from joining the occupation.

“A heavy-handed crackdown by law enforcement is discouraged, meanwhile, as it would likely trigger bloodshed, creating martyrs among the occupiers and dooming essential public discourse about the role of public lands and the right of all Americans to enjoy them,” the newspaper editorial said.

It concluded: “Is there a middle ground in this mess? The occupiers say no, and their actions prove it. They have, after all, mugged democracy. The occupation can thus be named: an unconstitutional taking from the people.”