The Oregon Standoff Comes to an End

This post has been updated.

The armed militia takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is over: The final holdout at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge turned himself in to the FBI after earlier saying he will “die a free man.”

David Fry walked out of the refuge and into custody, ending the standoff 41 days after it began. Fry was the lone holdout for part of Thursday after his three companions surrendered to the FBI earlier. Speaking via telephone to his supporters, in a conversation that was broadcast online, Fry appeared to be disturbed over a variety of issues, including the federal government, UFOs, and marijuana. And, he said, he will not leave.

“I declare war against federal government,” he said. “There’s no way to beat this anymore. Liberty or death.”

His three comrades,  Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; Sean Anderson, 47, and his wife, Sandy, 48, of Riggins, Idaho; were all taken into custody by the FBI earlier Thursday.

The developments came just hours after authorities arrested Cliven Bundy, the father of Ammon Bundy, one of the leaders of the protest on Wednesday night; and after FBI agents in armored vehicles rushed the building where the last four occupiers remained.

On Wednesday, the FBI said one of the militia members rode an ATV outside of the barricaded refuge, approached an officer, then quickly sped off. The FBI then moved on the building. The bureau said there were no shots fired during the siege, and, after a few hours, a militia member said the group would turn themselves over Thursday morning, but only to a  religious figure and a member of the Nevada state legislature. The paper reported that Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore and Franklin Graham, the Christian evangelist, offered to intervene.

“We reached a point where it became necessary to take action in a way that best ensured the safety of those on the refuge, the law enforcement officers who are on scene, and the people of Harney County who live and work in this area,” an FBI spokesman said.

Cliven Bundy had said he planned to go to the refuge, but it’s not clear what his intentions were when he said he’d fly from Las Vegas to Portland International Airport. There, the 74-year-old was arrested by authorities.

“We are being told by eyes on ground that he was surrounded by SWAT,” read a post from the Bundy Ranch Facebook page. He was charged only with violations of federal law related to the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada.

Cliven Bundy became famous after that standoff. He had illegally let his cattle graze on Bureau of Land Management property and run up $1 million in fees. When agents came to round up Cliven Bundy’s cows they were met by a militia of armed men. The siege eventually ended, the agents withdrew, and Cliven Bundy has not yet paid the fine.

As my colleague David Graham reported, Cliven Bundy’s influence loomed large on his sons Ammon and Ryan, who were among the leaders of the siege in Oregon.

They “had learned some lessons from their father’s turbulent fight in Nevada. Despite being in clear and flagrant violation of the law during that Nevada standoff, Cliven Bundy had initially gained support from many national conservatives,” Graham wrote. “But once he started offering racist soundbites, they abandoned him. Ammon Bundy was careful not do the same, with message for the most part carefully controlled.”

It’s hard not to wonder how much Cliven Bundy’s triumph in Nevada encouraged his sons and their supporters, creating an expectation that the federal government would easily roll over when challenged by a group of outlaws with guns.

But both Ammon and Ryan Bundy were arrested last month along with other members of their group. During that incident, one member of their protest, LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed by police. Four holdouts remained in Malheur on Thursday, the 41st day of the standoff, and Ammon Bundy had previously urged them to surrender. His father, however, told the remaining militia members to holdfast. They did—until Thursday.