150 Militia Take Over Makhuer National Wildlife Preserve Headquarters

Comment by Gary Hunt "Outpost of Freedom"


Gary Hunt

2 hrs






From Maxine Bernstein's Twitter:
Judge asked AB if anyone has pressured him to testify. AB: 'Yes this court.' #Oregonstandoff
Judge Brown asked AB again if any person has pressured him? AB: 'Other than this court, no.' #Oregonstandoff
I have no doubt, after reading this, that Ammon Bundy will do an excellent job on the Witness Stand

Malheur Protest trial Day 13 Todd Macfarlane reporting on Rangfire

http://rangefire.us/2016/09/29/ongoi...-defense-case/

DAY 13 — Monday, October 3, 2016
In significant developments today, Judge Brown dismissed Count II (the firearms charge) against Defendant Shawna Cox. She found that the government had presented no evidence to support the charge, and that no reasonable jury could convict her based on the evidence presented.

http://rangefire.us/wp-content/uploa...-1-300x223.jpg

Another significant development involved evidence presented by Tiffany Harris, Cox’s standby attorney, that in addition to the criminal charges that Dwight & Steven Hammond were prosecuted for, the BLM also filed a civil lawsuit against them. Under the circumstances Hammonds were ultimately forced to settle the case by agreeing to pay the BLM $400,000, and agreeing to give the BLM the right to acquire their ranch, including their private property, if they were not able to make the payment.

http://rangefire.us/wp-content/uploa...-1-300x234.jpg

HarneyCounty Sheriff David Ward also testified again. Although much of his testimony plowed old ground, with contentious bickering about his discussions and communications with Ammon Bundy and his associates, and it is doubtful that the Defendants got much mileage out of most of his testimony, ultimately he did again admit that he was not aware of any threats against federal officers or employees.

The Defendants then called a witness that the FBI had previously identified as “Idaho Jerry,” who was actually Brand Thornton. He testified about his involvement and actions at the Refuge. He said he was there with the

initial party on January 21, 2016, and http://rangefire.us/wp-content/uploa...-1-192x300.jpg
that he was there until January 25th. Thornton testified about his activities at the Refuge, including cleaning and repairs. He said he has never been arrested or charged with any crime associated with the occupation, and isn’t concerned that he will be. Despite confusion about his name and identity, Thornton is somewhat well-known for having a unique Shofar Horn that he blows under such circumstances, and did so on a regular basis at the Refuge during the occupation.

Four residents of Harney County, including Kim Rollins, Pat Horlacher, Travis Williams, and Melodi Molt also testified about their observations at the Refuge during the occupation, and their communications with Ammon Bundy. Rollins disputed Sheriff Ward’s version of what happened at certain public meetings, including the straw poll that was taken about requesting Bundys to leave. Horlacher said that the atmosphere at the Refuge was “laid-back” compared to the tense atmosphere in Burns, with the heavy law enforcement presence, which he said was “so much like a scene from Red Dawn that it was ridiculous.” Williams and Molt testified that they were nominated to serve on the executive committee of the Harney County Committee of Safety. Williams, a Harney County rancher, said that once he heard what Ammon Bundy had to say it struck a responsive chord with him. Although he didn’t necessarily agree with all of Bundys’ methods, he said he agreed with much of what they had to say in principle. Molt testified that there were discussions between the Committee of Safety and Bundys about an “exit strategy,” but Harney County Judge Steve Grasty refused to allow them to hold a meeting in any public building in the county to talk about it.

At the end of the day, Ammon Bundy told Judge Brown that he felt like he had no choice but to take the stand and testify. He said because she was not willing to allow any other evidence to explain what their other motives might have been, he felt like he had no choice but to take the stand to testify about his state of mind and intentions with respect to the occupation.

On an interesting side note, Oregonian reporter Maxine Bernstein has written an interesting article about the small-scale tourist attraction the Oregon Standoff Trial has become for downtown Portland this Fall, with people coming from near and far to observe the proceedings.

For contrasting perspectives and reporting, you can also follow Maxine Bernstein for OregonLive, and Conrad Wilson for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), or Gary Hunt at Outpost for Freedom and Redoubt News.

At RANGEFIRE! we believe there needs to be alternative voices to mainstream media commentary and coverage of these issues.

RANGE / RANGEFIRE! — Addressing Issues Facing the West / Spreading America’s Cowboy Spirit Beyond the Outback

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...2a35c19801f685

Oct. 3, Ammon Bundy stands up to Judge Brown

http://youtu.be/OHDKw3R6rfk

https://youtu.be/OHDKw3R6rfk

Ammon Bundy tells his story to the jury as told by Oregon Live

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-sta..._saying_h.html


Ammon Bundy says he tried to resist father's push to rally around Oregon ranchers

Ammon Bundy carried a worn Bible to the witness stand Tuesday and portrayed himself as a weak underdog pitted against a powerful federal government that has tried to crush his family.

Asked where he lived, Bundy said, "At the Multnomah County jail...just across the street. I've been there eight and a half months.''

Bundy became emotional on the stand several times, his voice quivering as he described how "useless'' it seems fighting against the federal government who has put his father, his brothers and himself in jail.

Bundy, the leader of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to prevent federal employees from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management from carrying out their work through intimidation, threats or force during a 41-day occupation of the federal wildlife sanctuary. He was arrested Jan. 26 as he and other leaders were driving to a community meeting in John Day.

The 41-year-old also faces indictment in Nevada, along with his father, Cliven Bundy, and his brothers, stemming from their 2014 standoff with federal officers from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management who were attempting to corral the senior Bundy's cattle based on a federal court order. The Bundys and hundreds of armed supporters thwarted the federal agency, and its officers backed away. Federal charges weren't issued in the Bunkerville case until after the takeover of the refuge in Oregon had occurred.

Ammon Bundy told jurors that his family has grazed cattle at their ranch near Bunkerville since they homesteaded in the 1870s. But he didn't mention anything about his father owing the government more than $1 million in grazing fees. His father stopped paying after the bureau ordered him to restrict the periods when his herd roamed the 600,000-acre ranch land as part of an effort to protect the endangered desert tortoise.

Instead, Bundy said his family faced a "tremendous amount of abuse'' for trying "to protect these grazing rights that we own.''

Bundy said the Bunkerville standoff "certainly affected'' his viewpoints towards the federal land management agency. Since the 2014 event, he said he was driven to find ways to protect his family's grazing rights and other ranchers' property rights, calling it their "life blood.'' He said he worked with Nevada lawmakers to push for a Nevada Resource Rights Registry, which would have required the state to defend what he called "vested property rights'' – be it water, grazing, logging or mineral rights – from federal control. It wasn't passed.

"This is the dangerous point the federal government doesn't want anyone to know...we do have rights to these lands,'' Bundy told jurors. "In my belief, there has been a strategic effort by the federal government in taking these rights.''

His voice choking with emotion, Bundy said it's been nearly impossible to challenge the federal government. "We can't do it against these people. They're too smart. They're too strong. We can't fight them. Now they're prosecuting us....My dad and brothers are all in jail right now, every single one of them. It's wrong,'' Bundy said, tears filling his eyes. "It's wrong....again, I'm sorry.''

Bundy said he initially resisted his father Cliven Bundy's push in the summer and fall of 2015 to get involved in the case of Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steve Hammond. As a child, Bundy noted, his father took his children "with him wherever he went.''

Bundy said he didn't know anything about the Hammonds' case, but his father kept bringing it up. In October, he said Cliven Bundy asked him again what he knew about the Hammonds' sentencing.
"He said, 'I'm afraid what's happening...,'' Ammon Bundy said, pausing mid-sentence as he fought back tears, unable to get more words out.

Struggling to compose himself, he continued, trying to complete what his father had told him, "He said, 'I'm afraid what's happening is the same thing that happened to us.' ''

"At that time I said, I can't fight another battle. We're doing the best we can to keep our family from going to prison,'' testified Bundy, a pocket Constitution in the left front pocket of his blue jail scrubs.
Ammon Bundy told his father he couldn't get involved, and that's what partly led him to move his family from Arizona to Emmett, Idaho in the fall of 2015. Bundy told jurors he's a married man with six children, and a family Christmas photo was displayed to jurors. His wife, Lisa Bundy, sat in the public gallery Tuesday.

But less than a month later, Ammon Bundy said he had a change of heart. While in bed on the evening of Nov. 2, he said he picked up someone's message on his phone, and clicked on a story about the re-sentencing of Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steve Hammond.

He said he still tried to resist "this overwhelming feeling that it was my duty to get involved, and try to protect this family.''

"I had to suppress that feeling a little bit and say no, that was not my responsibility until I couldn't any longer,'' Bundy testified.

Later that night, he started searching the Internet and reading everything he could find on the Hammonds' case, he said.

On Nov. 3, Ammon Bundy said he typed a letter, addressed "To: Aware Citizens and Government Officials,'' and posted it on his family's blog, Bundyranch.blogspot.com.

It began, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the Hammond family with deep empathy.''
The lengthy letter called the "injustices'' they believed the Hammond family was facing "hard to comprehend'' and alerted federal officials that further incarceration of the Hammonds could lead to civil unrest.

"We warn federal agencies, federal judges and all government officers that follow federal oppressive examples that the people are in unrest because of these types of actions,'' it read.

Ammon Bundy said he then decided to travel to Oregon to meet with the Harney County ranchers to "understand who they were.''

Ammon Bundy said he met with Steven Hammon initially. Steven Hammond gave him a ride in the back of his pickup to his ranch, about 30 miles away.

The Hammonds were convicted in June 2012 of arson to federal land. Dwight Hammond Jr. was convicted of one count of arson to Bureau of Land Management land in Harney County. His son was convicted of two counts of arson on Bureau of Land Management land, as well as land belonging to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the judge instructed jurors.

The father initially was sentenced to three months prison in October 2012, and his son to one year and one day of prison. On Feb. 7, 2014, the 9^th U.S. District Court of Appeals overturned the sentence and the father and son were re-sentenced in October 2015 to serve out a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison. The arson statute they were convicted under is part of the wide-ranging Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act that Congress passed in 1996. A five-year sentence was required under the enhanced penalties provision for use of explosives or arson crimes, the judge told jurors.

Of his visit with Steven Hammond, Bundy said, "I began to understand he was pretty tired of fighting and he was pretty much broken emotionally...He was just going to take what was given.''

Bundy's lawyer, Marcus Mumford, asked his client how he responded to Steven Hammond's position.
"I didn't understand until I spent 8 ½ months in prison, how he felt,'' Bundy testified.

Co-defendant Ryan Payne, who had come to support the Bundy Ranch near Bunkerville in 2014, ended up joining Ammon Bundy in Burns last November. Together, he said, they visited with Dwight Hammond Jr. and his wife, and later with Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward.

Ammon Bundy is expected to return to the witness stand Wednesday morning.

As he remained on the witness stand Tuesday afternoon, his attorney played for jurors clips of video capturing part of the 2014 standoff in Bunkerville. They captured a woman Ammon Bundy identified as his "Aunt Margaret'' getting thrown to the ground by a federal officer after she stood briefly in front of a government vehicle, and then Ammon Bundy getting shot with a stun gun three times after he parked his four-wheeler in front of a government dump truck. Bundy said his goal was to find out what the dump truck was hauling away, as he and others suspected it was his father's dead cattle.

"I truly believed they didn't have a right to be there, and my family had a right to be there,'' Bundy testified.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight earlier had objected to the videos being presented to jurors, arguing they only revealed a limited slice of what went on at Bunkerville

"Bunkerville is the evidence equivalent of a Pandora's box in this case,'' Knight argued. "Once we go down this road...we are really embracing more than a mini trial...but events that are not before this court.''

U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown said the prosecution's concerns are legitimate, "but that's a reality in a case like this.''

The judge ruled the videos from Bunkerville could be played solely for showing the impact on Ammon Bundy's state of mind as he came to Oregon. They could be played for jurors, but won't be provided to the jury as evidence during their deliberations in the case, the judge said.

-- Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian

Shari Dovale, Monday, Oct. 3, Redoubt News "Skittish Sheriff Turns Burns Into A Warzone.

http://oregon.redoubtnews.com/2016/1...burns-warzone/

HomeBLM Skittish Sheriff Turns Burns Into A Warzone

Skittish Sheriff Turns Burns Into A Warzone


THE SHERIFF OVER REACTED FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL PROTECTION.

October 3, 2016 BLM, Constitution, FBI, Featured

http://i0.wp.com/oregon.redoubtnews....size=641%2C360Courthouse and Sheriff Office barricaded in Burns, Oregon, January 2016

Skittish Sheriff Turns Burns Into A Warzone

by Shari Dovale

The Malheur Protest Trial resumed this morning with a good day for the defense. They got a big win right off the bat when the gun charges were dismissed against Shawna Cox! The jury will not learn of this, however, until the final instructions before they deliberate.

Judge Anna Brown was not going to make the rest of the day easy, however, and shut down much of the defense witness testimonies calling them irrelevant or cumulative. It’s interesting that she let multiple FBI agents testify about the same issues yet when defense witnesses have testimony that overlaps each other, she shuts it all down.

BLM Agent Jeff Rose took the stand and testified that the BLM had a civil case against the Hammond Family. Testimony revealed that the Hammond’s had been fined $400,000 and the BLM also obtained a “Right of First Refusal” on their ranch, if they had to sell it to pay the fines. The Hammond patriarch’s are currently serving their second round of prison time for the same charge of arson/terrorism for protecting their ranch.

Rose reluctantly discussed how the BLM chose to close their office several days before the rally held in Burns on January 2, 2016. This was confirmed in an email the defense obtained. Again, it is confirmed that the government employees were sent home long before the Bundy’s held their rally or went to the Malheur Refuge. The employees were also allowed to work from home, or other offices, and never lost work or pay.

Harney County Sheriff David Ward took the stand again to discuss the meetings he held with Ammon and others in November. Ward was forced to admit that he had been feeding info to the FBI about anyone that showed support for the Bundy’s.
Ward was shown an email that he claimed was an ultimatum to him. The section that threatened

Ward the most in that email reads:

We the people desire to live in peace and tranquility, but will defend out freedoms if necessary in order to do so. We call upon you, Sheriff Ward, and all civil servants, to honorably and effectively uphold the oaths and duties of your sworn offices. – To turn your weapons in the defense of the Hammonds rights and truly be a representative of the people, by the people and for the people.

Testimony showed that Sheriff Ward put the county on ‘High Alert’ with State and Federal officers, as well as deputies from 5 neighboring counties coming to his personal protection. Military equipment, heavily armored vehicles, locking down and barricading the courthouse and orders to use force upon the people if they saw fit, all because the Sheriff perceived a threat in an email, but could not show this threat.

The Sheriff over reacted for his own personal protection, yet he refused to protect the Hammond family when he was asked. He has effectively placed himself above the Hammonds and all the people of Harney County.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
― George Orwell, Animal Farm

Audio clips of a meeting held between Sheriff Ward and Ammon, as well as several others, were played and discussed. In these clips, no threats were made but Ammon explained well the argument that the BLM were never punished for starting accidental fires, unlike the Hammonds who were labeled as terrorists. Ward suggested that people could petition Congress if they wanted to fight this, but that is all he offered.

Other testimony today included residents of Burns and their Committee of Safety members. Kim Rollins testified that Sheriff Ward misled the residents when he held a townhall meeting to gather a straw poll vote from the residents against the Bundys. Rollins explained that Ward did not get the support from the residents that he testified to, and that residents wanted to hear what Ammon had to say.

Additionally, Rollins testified about a visit he made to the Malheur Refuge last summer. He had brought small children with him and the adults could not let the children walk through the museum due to the amount of rodent feces throughout. “Deplorable conditions” was how he described it.

Pat Horlacher was another resident from Burns. He testified that when the Refuge was first occupied he was afraid for his family. He tried to talk to the Sheriff but was not allowed to see him, as the courthouse was barricaded. He became concerned that he should move his family out of town. He described Burns like it had been invaded, or a scene out of the movie “Red Dawn’ due to the escalation of law enforcement.

Horlacher testified that the LEOs made him afraid, but he decided to go personally to the refuge and see what was happening. “It is happening in your own backyard,” he said. “You need to make your own decision.”

He traveled to the refuge and saw things were peaceful and calm. “It was as laid back an environment as you could ask for.” He testified that he never heard gunshots and saw very few weapons. Horlacher ended up making multiple visits to the refuge that month.

It is very obvious from the testimony that people were comfortable visiting the refuge and talking to the protesters. However, the town was turned into a war zone at the request of a skittish sheriff and a county judge with a large ego.

http://i2.wp.com/oregon.redoubtnews....size=300%2C107
Another barricaded entrance at the courthouse in Burns, OR January 2016

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Related

Malheur Defense Starts With a BangSeptember 29, 2016In "BLM"

Part 2: The Citizens of Burns OregonJanuary 18, 2016In "BLM"

Malheur Protest Trial - Week 2 Wrap UpSeptember 18, 2016In "BLM"

John Lamb's video Malheur Protest trial Morning of Oct. 4

http://youtu.be/GqRlTS8tFxY

https://youtu.be/GqRlTS8tFxY

John Lamb Malheur Protest trial Oct. 4 afternoon session

http://youtu.be/jga3A_UzTBk

https://youtu.be/jga3A_UzTBk

Todd Macfarlane gives a brief report on Day 14 of the Malheur Protest trial

http://rangefire.us/2016/09/29/ongoi...-defense-case/

DAY 14 — Tuesday, October 4, 2016
One of the days many people have been waiting for in this trial happened this afternoon when Ammon Bundy took the witness stand and testified for several hours, after several other witnesses in the morning, including David Fry’s father, William Fry, a retired Marine gunnery segeant, Chris Briels, the Harney County Fire Chief, and Burns resident, Lindsay Tyler, who testified that she had been to the Refuge several times during the occupation, and had seen Harney County Commissioner, Dan Nichols, there. She also testified that she had taken cakes and cupcakes to the refuge.

Briels testified that he is part of the Harney County Committe of Safety. He explained that his comittee had had discussions with Ammon Bundy, including about plans and conditions for exiting the Refuge. He said those efforts were thwarted by Harney County Judge Steven Grasty’s refusal to allow them to meet at any public venue in Harney County.

http://rangefire.us/wp-content/uploa...-1-278x300.jpg

When Ammon Bundy took the stand, he told about his life growing up on the Bundy Ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada. He testified about the grazing rights that his family and other ranchers rely upon to utilize federal grazing allotments, which in his view constitute a valid private property interest in forage resources of those allotments. He testified about how the federal government has slowly tried to take away those rights to the point that his father terminated any contractual or “permit” releationship with the federal government, which likewise terminated any financial obligation to the BLM.

Bundy testified that he is a husband and father of six children, and that he currently resides at the Multnomah County Jail, where he has been in custody for 8.5 months on the theory that he poses a danger to the community.

After much argument and debail, Bundy was allowed to testify about his experiences in Bunkerville in 2014, as the federal government sought to impound his family’s cattle. Prosecutors objected to any testimony, arguing that it would turn into a Pandora’s box in the case. But ultimately, Judge Brown said she would allow it because it is part of the nature of the unique beast in this case.

Bundy explained how his father, Cliven Bundy, had first told him about Dwight & Steven Hammond, and their plight in dealing with the federal government. Ammon testied that his dad suggested that like their own ranch, Hammonds had been intentionally targeted by the federal government, and had ultimately been tried, and convicted for burning a small amount of BLM land in two separate incidents, and after serving the intial sentences that were imposed by the trial court, they were both tater resentenced to a serve a full five years each.
Bundy testified that at first he resisted his father’s encouragement to study the situation and possibly get involved. Later on, however, he testified he had a change of heart and traveled to Harney County, Oregon to meet the Hammonds and look into their situation. He testified that at first he resisted the thought, but ultimately felt impressed to try to figure out what he might do to help them out. He said all his efforts were focused on trying to figure what had happened and what could be done about it.

Ammon is expected to continue to testify Wednesday morning.

For contrasting perspectives and reporting, you can also follow Maxine Bernstein for OregonLive, and Conrad Wilson for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), or Gary Hunt at Outpost for Freedom and Redoubt News.

At RANGEFIRE! we believe there needs to be alternative voices to mainstream media commentary and coverage of these issues.

RANGE / RANGEFIRE! — Addressing Issues Facing the West / Spreading America’s Cowboy Spirit Beyond the Outback

Comments from Dr. McIntosh re jurisdiction/ownership of Malheur headquarters, who was subpoenaed by Shawna Cox

Edit: the judge and prosecutors have all stepped out of their federal office by usurping jurisdiction where it doesn't exist. They could/should be subject to civil lawsuits, and criminal prosecution as well, but as Dr. Trowbridge points out they will immediately remove the case to the federal court system where their buddies protect them.

Angus McIntosh

20 hrs ·
I was subpoenaed to testify in the Malheur Protest trial by one of the defendants, Shawna Cox.

Having thoroughly reviewed and analyzed the the legal history and title documents produced by both the government and the defendants, Dr. Michael Coffman and myself prepared an analysis document for the Court which I also submitted as a sworn Declaration. That declaration was submitted by defendant Ammon Bundy's attorney Marcus Mumford along with a motion to dismiss the charges based on a lack of federal jurisdiction.

In a voir dire hearing prior to trial I stated that there were serious questions of federal ownership of the land and improvements at the location where the protest occurred. In the same hearing I was shocked to find out that at least some of the legal counsel in the room were unaware of Title 18 USC 1855 (which would have exonerated the Hammonds in the first place).

As to the federal employees actions toward the local ranch owners since approximately 1984 it turns out the Bundy's suspicion of fraud and illegal activities was absolutely correct. All the land acquired in the area around the lake (including the headquarters) was purchased under a Depression/Dustbowl era statute specifically intended to purchase abandoned or unproductive farms and then "resettle" that land in large enough "units" capable of supporting a family.

Congress actually ordered and required the land where the headquarters is situated (including the buildings) to be liquidated and disposed of in 1946 (60 Stat 1065). It was disposed of to local ranchers who used it for grazing and forage crops for nearly 40 years until the local BLM and USFWS employees began a systematic elimination of the ranchers through fraud and abuse.

It is shocking to the conscience that a Federal Judge is actually suppressing evidence of these crimes and in effect aiding and abetting after the fact.

I've been an expert witness in 4 different Fed District courts, the US Court of Fed Claims, and the IBLA and I've never seen such an incredible effort to suppress exculpatory evidence by a judge. Truly mind boggling.




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