Vol. 80/No. 10 March 14, 2016
(front page)
US gov’t plans wider frame-up against Oregon land protesters
Bundy, who is from Idaho, led the Jan. 2 takeover of the refuge to demand U.S. authorities release father and son cattle ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond, imprisoned twice on the same arson charges, and to combat what many ranchers call “overreach” by the federal government in its control of most of the land in the area.
The Hammonds, whose land federal agents have sought to take over for years, were found guilty for setting two controlled fires on their own Harney County ranch — a common practice both ranchers and government agencies use to control the spread of invasive plants and prevent destruction from wildfires. The fires spread to small areas of federal land. After serving out their sentence, the Hammonds were sent back to prison Jan. 4 when an appeals court ruled that under the Bill Clinton-era Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act they should serve more time.
Only four of Bundy’s co-defendants have been released on bail. Ten others appeared in court Feb. 24, where federal Judge Anna Brown told them the law presumes them to be innocent unless they are proven guilty.
“It’s difficult to understand the presumption of innocence when I’ve spent the last month in a jail cell and been led around in chains wherever I go,” defendant Ryan Payne told the judge.
Sandy Anderson was released on bail Feb. 19. She was told she isn’t allowed to write, phone, email or have any physical contact with any of her co-defendants, including her husband Sean.
“While the conditions are humiliating and add insult to injury, they are not unusual,” Michael Arnold, Ammon Bundy’s attorney, told the Militant Feb. 26 from Eugene, Oregon.
Arnold said he plans to renew his request for Bundy to be released. Bundy never threatened to harm anyone, Arnold said, he just exercised his constitutionally protected right to speak out about issues of concern to ranchers and others in the West. “We’re putting together many of his words from the Internet to present to the judge when we make the new motion,” he said. “His words speak for themselves.”
Two days after his arrest, Bundy said from jail that while many of those at the refuge had guns with them during the occupation, they “never once pointed them at another individual or had any desire to do so.” He says that their occupation of the refuge was civil disobedience to promote the idea that the “land belongs to the people.”
At the Feb. 24 hearing federal prosecutors asked the court to designate the cases as “complex.” This would allow prosecutors to drag out proceedings, tossing aside the defendants’ right to a speedy trial. The prosecution proposes a trial date sometime in 2017.
Bundy and several of the accused were arrested Jan. 26 when the FBI and Oregon state police ambushed them as they were driving to speak at a community meeting in John Day, Oregon. Another leader of the occupation, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, was ambushed and killed by the police.
The FBI says the killing of Finicum is still under investigation.
While area residents had different opinions about whether the occupation was a good idea, most ranchers and working people agree the Hammonds should go free and many say the killing of Finicum was murder.
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