Sheriff meets with armed group, asks them to leave

Bundy replied by attempting to engage Ward in a discussion about the group’s grievances, saying, “We’re here for the people of Harney County“.

Ward said the two sides planned to talk again Friday.

The group of protesters, led by Arizona resident Ammon Bundy, objects to federal land policy and the re-sentencing of two Harney County ranchers who were convicted of arson on federal land.

Bundy the leader of a small, armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge in OR says the activists have no immediate plans to leave.

Authorities said Ward sought the meeting to work out a peaceful resolution to the takeover, not to make any arrests. Following the meeting, Bundy told reporters his group is sticking by its decision not to leave until federal land is turned back over to the people of Harney County.

“He gave us some things to think about and we’re going to think about those, and we’ll let you know”, Bundy said after the meeting, which lasted less than 10 minutes.

The occupation is in its sixth day at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Sheriff Ward has repeatedly said the occupation has to end and violence be avoided.

About the same time, members of another armed group known as the 3% of Idaho began arriving at the bird sanctuary, The Oregonian reported (http://goo.gl/mEMbqo ).

Bundy and an estimated 20 militants took over the Malheur headquarters on Saturday.

Harney County Sheriff David Ward told hundreds of people at the gathering that the group needed to leave so local people could get back to their lives. Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who in 2014 was at the center of a tense standoff with federal officials over grazing rights.

The encounter came as pressure mounts on Bundy to end the occupation of headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, south of Burns.

“It was instigated by outsiders whose tactics we Oregonians don’t agree with“.

The leader of a small, armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge in OR says the activists have no immediate plans to leave. We want all law enforcement to be safe. Ward told the hundreds gathered at the meeting he hoped the community would put up a “united front” to peacefully resolve the conflict.

Sheriff David Ward said in a statement that the militia and members of the Bundy family have “no intention” of leaving the federal land.

He said that the group believes it is their responsibility to help the Hammonds despite admitting that since being imprisoned they have distanced themselves from the group. The two men left eastern OR early Sunday to report to Terminal Island in San Pedro, California, to serve their prison sentences.

Cowboy Dwane Ehmer, of Irrigon Ore., a supporter of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, rides his horse to the manned watch tower at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, near Burns, Ore.