Oregon Governor and Newspaper Demand End to Refuge Occupation
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is expressing anger and frustration over federal handling of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by a group of armed antigovernment extremists and militia members.聽
At a press conference Wednesday, the governor said federal officials 鈥渉ave told to her to limit her public comments to avoid escalating the ongoing occupation at the refuge near Burns,鈥� reported.
But that didn鈥檛 stop her from finally speaking out.
鈥淔ederal authorities must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable,鈥� Brown said.
鈥淭his spectacle of lawlessness must end, and until Harney County is free of it, I will not stop insisting that federal officials enforce the law,鈥� said Brown, a Democrat.聽
There have been several public demonstrations in Oregon and elsewhere in the Northwest opposing the occupation 鈥撯�� now in its 20th day 鈥撯�� by bird, hunting, fishing, hiking and outdoor enthusiasts.
The governor said the occupation of the refuge complex, which began Jan. 2, is 鈥渋ntolerable鈥� and聽said federal authorities must find a quick resolution.聽聽
The governor, who鈥檚 a Democrat, said she鈥檚 been in touch with both the White House and the Justice Department regarding the conflict, but she didn鈥檛 provide specifics.
鈥淭he residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials' response thus far,鈥� Brown said at a news conference in Salem, the state鈥檚 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鈥檚 largest newspaper, The Oregonian, published an editorial in today鈥檚 editions saying 鈥渋t鈥檚 time to pull the plug鈥� at the refuge and put an end to the 鈥渃oercive, illegal action鈥� by Ammon Bundy and his armed 鈥済ang.鈥�
The editorial noted that one of Bundy鈥檚 associates, Arizona rancher Robert 鈥淟aVoy鈥� Finicum, said earlier this week, 鈥淭his is not just a little occupation [but] a movement that's taking place across the country.鈥�
Finicum said other activists from the West are scheduled to arrive at the refuge later this week for 鈥渁 signing ceremony to throw off the overlordship of the federal government.鈥�
Then, 鈥渁s if to underscore his gang's resolve [Finicum said]: 鈥淲e 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,鈥� the editorial said.聽
鈥�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,鈥� the editorial said.
The newspaper said a 鈥渟ustained tolerance for the occupation at this point won't do,鈥� and it called for 鈥渕easured but aggressive actions鈥� including shutting off electrical power and stopping other ranchers from joining the occupation.
鈥淎 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,鈥� the newspaper editorial said.
It concluded: 鈥淚s 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.鈥�
