Ammon Bundy, the leader of an armed group protesting at a federal wildlife in eastern Oregon, and other people were arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, Jan. 26. A protest was being held at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge when the said leader and others were arrested by the authorities.
The protest, which started Jan. 2 this year was part of the Sagebrush Rebellion, a demonstration by a group of people fighting against the U.S. government's plans of controlling acres of land in the West, Reuters reported the following day. During the latest demonstration, shots were fired during a traffic stop, killing one person and injuring another.
A same-day report from Katu confirmed that the killed victim was LaVoy Finicum, a member of the group. Ryan Bundy, another member of the protest group, was injured during the shoot.
CNN reported that it was not yet clear who started the shooting during the protest. Ammon Bundy and four other group members were on their way to a meeting at a John Day senior center located north of Burns. A confrontation ensued when shots were fired after the FBI and the Oregon police countered the party at a traffic stop in U.S. Highway 395 at around 4:25p.m. local time, according to FBI reports.
The party, consisting of Ammon and Ryan Bundy, Brian Cavalier, Shawna Cox and Ryan Waylen Payne, were detained after the incident. Two others, group member Joseph Donald O'Shaughnessy and independent journalist Peter Santilli, were later arrested by state police in Burns, for their alleged involvement in the protest. Another protester, Jon Ritzheimer, turned himself in to state police in Peoria, Arizona, according to FBI spokesman Kurt Remus.
All eight people were charged with conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats. The charges are all related to the protest.
