Bundy Says Protesters Want Local Land Control

The armed group said it wants an inquiry into whether the government is forcing ranchers off their land after Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven, reported back to prison Monday.

“Every one of us has a constitutional right to protest, to speak our minds, but we don’t have a constitutional right to use force and violence and to threaten force and violence on others”, Cruz said at an event in Iowa, according to The Washington Post.

An Oregon rancher and his son who helped inspire an armed anti-government protest at a remote national wildlife outpost surrendered Monday to federal prison authorities in San Pedro.

Ryan Bundy talks on the phone at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said the group came to town under false pretenses.

The militants originally claimed to be in Burns for a peaceful rally protesting the reincarceration of two Harney County ranchers.

“Negotiating, being smart about this, but also knowing that in the end, the job of government is to enforce the law and make sure following the law is most important principle to follow”, Christie said.

The Hammonds were convicted of arson after lighting what they said was a controlled fire on their ranch in Harney County that spread to government land.

The FBI said in a statement Sunday that it was working with local and state police “to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation”. “We’re planning on staying here for years, absolutely”, Bundy told The Oregonian.

“We have exhausted all prudent measures and have been ignored”, he said.

A statement from the Hammonds said the two men are ready to turn themselves in and serve out their longer prison terms.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, said all of its staff are safe and that the site is closed until further notice.

But the occupation marked the latest flare-up of anger against the U.S. government over federal management of public land in the West, long seen by political conservatives in the region as an intrusion on individual freedom and property rights. He said he hopes the takeover will prompt others to take action across the country to seize control of federally managed land. Now it is abruptly canceled because of a takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters orchestrated by welfare cowboy Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, aided and abetted by self-proclaimed ” militia patriots”.

Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan, who have been leading a small group of militiamen occupying a federal installation since Saturday, say they are prepared to stay there for years.

There sure is, but it isn’t the supposed tyranny of a government that refuses to let ranchers rip off taxpayers by grazing livestock on public land for free or setting fires as they please.

Residents of the tiny town of Burns are concerned about the potential for violence. Bundy and law enforcement officials declined to say how many people were occupying the center.

The agency said it wouldn’t be providing details of its response because of “safety considerations for both those inside the refuge as well as the law enforcement officers involved”.

“You can say, well, a negotiated settlement emboldens them”, he said.