Memorial emerges on highway where rancher was killed
BURNS, Ore. (AP) —About a dozen people paid their respects Sunday afternoon at a makeshift memorial that has sprung up where rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was shot and killed by police last week on U.S. Highway 395 north of Burns.
The mourners wiped tears, prayed, and laid a copy of the U.S. Constitution on a large wooden cross that has been planted at the site.
The site is also surrounded by American flags and signs, including one that says “RIP LaVoy Finicum. A True American hero.”
Meanwhile, the four people occupying a national wildlife refuge held their position Sunday . They have demanded that they be allowed to leave without being arrested. The jailed group’s leader, Ammon Bundy, and 10 others who were arrested last week remained in custody.
Through his lawyer, Bundy on Saturday again called on the remaining occupiers to leave. The FBI has said it’s trying to resolve the situation peacefully.
The mourners at the makeshift memorial Sunday included Brandon Curtis, a founder of the Pacific Patriots Network, which is demanding the removal of law enforcement officers from Burns.
“We’ve had enough,” Curtis said. “This stops now.”
The network said it had additional rallies planned for Monday in Burns and called for like-minded people to gather in the small eastern Oregon town.
“This is a call to action against an armed militarized police force,” said B.J. Soper, a network leader.
“We want to protest this armed insurgency taking place by our federal government,” Soper said of the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns.
Activists are urging people who oppose a “militarized police presence” to converge on the small high desert town near the wildlife refuge that has been occupied by an armed group for a month.
The network also organized a rolling rally through Burns on Saturday night, and said it planned more demonstrations to protest the killing of Finicum, and the presence of numerous heavily armed law enforcement officers at the standoff.
The rally drew more than 100 people and dozens of U.S. and Confederate flag-covered vehicles.
A lone woman showed up to oppose the rally. Jen Hoke of Burns carried a sign saying “Militia Go Home.'” “These people are spreading a message of hate,” Hoke said.
While the standoff that originated over federal land-use policies has led to filled-up hotels and restaurants as police, protesters and media have flocked to the area, locals say the conflict is upsetting and pitting neighbor against neighbor.
Authorities say Bundy, the leader of the group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and others used the social media and other platforms to summon recruits to join their takeover.
