Oregon Militia Members Were Just Delivered Devastating News
The Oregon militia members who occupied a wildlife refuge in protest of the government could face decades in prison under a set of new criminal charges, including firearm offenses, theft of public property and damaging a Native American archaeological site.
Federal prosecutors in Portland have greatly expanded their case against brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and more than a dozen defendants who participated in the armed takeover of the Malheur national wildlife refuge in the high-profile standoff that began 2 January and dragged on for 41 days in rural Oregon.
Last month, after the final four occupiers surrendered to the FBI, officials arrested and charged a total of 25 people for their roles in the armed anti-government demonstration on public lands controlled by the federal government.
The rightwing activists, who traveled from across the US to protest the government’s land-use restrictions in the west, are all accused of using “force, intimidation and threats” to conspire against and impede government officials – a federal felony offense that carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
But on Wednesday, prosecutors unveiled a slew of new charges against 19 of the 25 defendants in the case – an indication that the federal government plans to aggressively target the protesters, some of whom could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted of all the offenses. (Read more from “Oregon Militia Members Were Just Delivered Devastating News” HERE)
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