Refuge takeover: A timeline of the 41 days
It’s been 41 days since armed protesters took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, but the issues go back much further.
Father and son ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond were convicted of arson on federal land years ago. A judge imposed less than the minimum sentence but that was overturned and they were ordered back to prison. This angered many, and in mid-December militants gathered in Burns to protest the Hammonds’ return to jail.
The Harney County standoff unfolded with the start of the New Year. The following is a timeline of events:
Day 1, Jan. 2: Hundreds gathered in Burns to protest the re-imprisonment of the Hammonds. A small group of armed protesters later broke away and took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Day 2, Jan. 3: Leader Ammon Bundy, explains the occupiers’ stance to the media.
Day 3, Jan. 4: The Hammonds return to federal prison,while the Harney County sheriff tells the occupiers to go home.
Day 5, Jan. 6: Hundreds of Harney County residents agree with the sheriff and gather to voice their concerns.
Day 6, Jan. 7: The sheriff and Bundy meet face to face to discuss ending the occupation. Bundy refuses to leave.
Day 10, Jan. 11: Protesters tear down a portion of U.S. Fish and Wildlife fence.
Day 14, Jan. 15: The first occupier is arrested after authorities accuse him of driving a stolen government car to Burns.
Day 18, Jan. 19: Two weeks in, conservation groups in Bend and across Oregon rally for the standoff to end.
Day 20, Jan. 21: Bundy and the FBI begin negotiations.
Day 25, Jan. 26:OSP and FBI officers stop protest leaders headed to a community meeting in John Day. The stop results in the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum and the arrest of five occupiers, including Bundy. Six others are also arrested elsewhere.
Day 26, Jan. 27: Bundy goes to court and calls for the last four occupiers to go home.
Day 27, Jan. 28: The four occupiers refuse to leave and post videos online as the FBI negotiates to end the occupation.
Day 31, Feb. 1: One month into the standoff, hundreds on both sides gather at the Harney County Courthouse to loudly urge protesters or the FBI to go home.
Day 34, Feb. 4: Phone and Internet service is cut off to the refuge and the FBI provides occupiers with a phone believed to be their only source of communication.
Day 40, Feb. 10: The FBI says it’s time to seeks results and begins to move in on the last four occupiers.
Day 41, Feb. 11: The last four occupiers surrender. David Fry is the last to come out and after much convincing from the FBI, a Nevada lawmaker and Rev. Franklin Graham. He eats a cookie and smokes a cigarette, getting the FBI agents to shout hallelujah before being taken into custody.
It’s the surreal end to a tense 41 days. But withabout two-dozen occupiers indicted and in jail, ready to make the same claims of government wrongdoing and overreach, the story is far from over.
