Anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy called Sunday for armed allies to join in an occupation of a federal building in rural Oregon, but struggled to explain what he and a group of militia members in the facility hope to achieve.
“We want the government to abide by the Constitution and to abide by the authority that the people have given it,” Bundy told CNN, without naming specific remedies the occupiers seek.
Bundy has called for armed protestors to come to the facility at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside Burns, Ore., to join what he says will be an effort to roll back unconstitutional federal laws.
“We are using the wildlife refuge as a place for individuals across the United States to come and assist in helping the people of Harney County claim back their lands and resources,” he said.
“The people will need to be able to use the land and resources without fear as free men and women,” he said. “We know it will take some time.”
Bundy, 40, is the son of Cliven Bundy, who gained popularity with some foes of government power when he engaged in a long standoff with federal officials in 2014 over his refusal to pay for rights to graze cattle on federal land.
Ammon Bundy, who has two of his brothers with him, says he does not intend to harm anyone. But his group’s actions and refusal to rule out violence has sparked fears of an armed confrontation.
Bundy said the occupiers are armed but did not elaborate. He refused to say how many people were with him, arguing that information could jeopardize “operational security.”
The Bundys and other extremists gathered in Burns for a demonstration supporting Dwight and Steven Hammond, father and son ranchers convicted of arson on federal property. A group of the demonstrators, including the Bundy brothers, broke into the apparently empty federal facility after the march on Saturday.
The Hammonds are due Monday to start five year prison terms for setting a set a fire that burned about 130 acres in 2001, allegedly to cover up poaching.
The Hammonds claimed they set a controlled fire to reduce weed growth and to protect their nearby property from wildfires. Like Bundy, they argue the federal government lacks legitimate power to prosecute them.
“We are not terrorists,” Ammon Bundy said. “We are concerned citizens and realize we have to act if we want to pass along anything to our children.”
