BURNS, Ore. — Harney County Sheriff David Ward is a man of modesty and good humor in an awful situation. During a town hall meeting Wednesday, the sheriff was asked about his military service. Ward said in part, “I served in Somalia, back in 1993. You all seen ‘Black Hawk Down’? That wasn’t me.”
President Obama says that the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge standoff is a matter for local law enforcement. His own police agency may disagree. Ward has said that the FBI, which has a mounting but low key presence in Harney County, has said the ringleaders of the occupation will face charges at some point for challenging the federal government.
Ward nevertheless met with Ammon Bundy Thursday and tried to reason with him, promising him safe passage out of the state. This precipitated a meeting Friday morning among the occupiers and another meeting with Ward.
Bundy said during his daily press scrum Friday, “We will take that offer, but not yet.” He wants to “transfer what we are doing,” in terms of advocacy, to a local group — minus the armed occupation.
The sheriff’s office issued a statement saying that because the occupiers won’t withdraw right away, “there are no planned meetings or calls at this time. However, the sheriff is keeping all options open.”
One of those options includes picking up the phone and putting a police escort together to get the problem out of his state and out of his hair.
The Oregonian newspaper captured this local sense of deescalation with the headline, “Oregon standoff: Ammon Bundy declines sheriff’s offer for safe passage home, for now.”
With the conflict likely to end this weekend, reporters fanned out and sought color quotes from many of the local Burns business owners, including an art gallery operator’s deep thoughts on privatization.
