The standoff over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon took a bloody turn last night when eight of the protestors engaged with federal authorities. One man has been killed, another injured and the remaining six people were arrested.
For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, back at the beginning of January, a number of people in Oregon were protesting the arrest and incarceration of two men convicted of arson. Somehow the conviction of people who actually committed the crime they were being convicted for made these people so mad that they took over a federal bird sanctuary and refused to leave on the grounds that the feds should give the bird sanctuary back to the people to whom it rightfully belongs, namely the county and/or the protestors. (The Washington Post gives a better explanation of the whole timeline here.)
Some might argue that the bird sanctuary really belongs to Native tribes from the region, or even the birds, but I digress.
Since the protest began, the occupiers have been coming and going at will and accepting shipments of supplies (and also sex toys) while the rest of the nation wondered why the feds didn’t cut off their access to the outside world. Apparently, feds decided yesterday was the day to do that. The eight people involved in the altercation had left the federal property to attend a meeting and refused to surrender when stopped by authorities.
As of now, some of the occupiers have left and others are still there inside a containment areas established by the authorities. Here’s hoping this end without more bloodshed.
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Image source: NBC
