This timeline of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge describes the progression of events leading up to, during, and after the occupation. The 2016 event played out over several weeks of public statements, occupying activity, and rallies.
Prelude (December 2015January 2, 2016)
Ammon Bundy, the leader of a group now calling themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, said he began leading the occupation after receiving a divine message ordering him to do so.
By early December 2015, Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne had set up residence in Burns, Oregon. The same month, they organized a meeting at the Harney County Fairgrounds to rally support for their efforts. At the meeting, a "committee of safety" was organized to orchestrate direct action against the sentences of Dwight and Steven Hammond, the central figures of a case of arson on federal land. According to that group's website, the Harney County Committee of Safety considers itself "a governmental body established by the people in the absence of the ability of the existing government to provide for the needs and protection of civilized society" (during the American Revolution, committees of safety were shadow governments organized to usurp authority from colonial administrators).
On December 30, 2015, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) staff members at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) were dismissed early from work. With tensions rising in nearby Burns, supervisors left staff with the final instruction not to return to the refuge unless explicitly instructed. Meanwhile, some residents of Burns reported harassment and intimidation by private U.S. militia members. According to the spouses and children of several federal employees and local police, they had been followed home or to school by vehicles with out-of-state license plates.
On January 1, 2016, a privately organized public forum held at the Harney County Fairgrounds was attended by about 60 local residents and members of militias. A Burns-area resident who organized the event described it as an opportunity to defuse tensions that had been simmering between locals and out-of-town militia in the preceding days. According to press accounts, the event lasted about two hours and "shifted from sometimes profanity-laden declarations to agreements the Hammonds had been too harshly treated and that a peaceful rally might do some good."
At noon on January 2, a rally of about 300 gathered in the parking lot of a Safeway supermarket in Burns, organized by the Pacific Patriots Network (PPN), a militia umbrella organization that includes the 3 Percenters of Idaho. Following 40 minutes of speeches, the crowd marched one mile to the home of Dwight and Steven Hammond, stopping briefly en route to protest outside the sheriff's office. The crowd then returned to the same Safeway and broke up, the entire march lasting approximately ninety minutes. According to KOIN, the CBS-affiliated television station in Portland, Oregon, there was "no visible police presence at any point."
First week
Initial occupation (January 2)
Before the protest crowd broke up, Ammon Bundy announced to the crowd his plan to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and he encouraged people to join him. His announcement surprised a PPN rally organizer, who later stated he felt betrayed. Ammon and Ryan Bundy—along with armed associates—separated from the crowd and proceeded to the refuge headquarters, located south of Burns. The militants settled into the refuge and set up defensive positions. There, they began occupying unstaffed buildings on the property and set up a roadblock on an access road. In a video posted to his Facebook page, Ammon Bundy called on supporters to converge on the facility which he described as "the tool to do all the tyranny that has been placed upon the Hammonds." According to The Oregonian, Ryan Bundy stated that the militant group wants the Hammonds to be released and for the federal government of the United States to relinquish control of the Malheur National Forest. Right before the occupation began, the militants notified the Harney County Sheriff's Office and also contacted a utility company with the intention of taking over the refuge's electric and other services, according to a motion to dismiss and memorandum filed by Ammon Bundy's lawyers on May 9.
At 4:02 p.m. on January 2, the official Facebook page of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge posted an update that read: "The Refuge will be CLOSED until further notice." The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates the MNWR, said that all of its staff were safe and the refuge was closed until further notice. The Bureau of Land Management announced that its office in Burns would be closed until further notice.
As of January 2, the militia leaders claimed to have 150 armed personnel available at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. A reporter personally witnessed "no more than a dozen" potential combatants. A separate report by public broadcasting network Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) put the number of the militants at the MNWR at "between six and 12." In a statement posted to the Facebook page of the 3 Percenters of Idaho (one of the militias identified by media as involved in the takeover), the group disclaimed involvement, stating that the seizure was "carried out by a small group of persons who chose to carry out this takeover after the rally."
The Harney County Sheriff's Office initially reported that the Oregon State Police (OSP) was "handling the incident." At the same time, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the agency was "aware" of the situation. Later that same day, The Guardian observed that there was no visible law enforcement presence in the area. Authorities had not approached the refuge or blocked access to it.
Maureen Peltier, a soldier with the Washington Army National Guard who traveled to Burns to participate in the protest, reported to media on January 3 that the militias who had seized control of the MNWR were in high spirits and had "a good security team." Peltier also said that the militants were moving children onto the MNWR grounds and had called upon like-minded persons to join them.
The leader of the occupation, Ammon Bundy, and some other Oregon militants are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and have cited the Mormon scripture as justification for defying government authority. One member of the group told the media that his name is "Captain Moroni," a reference to a heroic warrior figure in the Book of Mormon. After the occupation began, the LDS Church issued a statement strongly condemning the seizure and stated that the armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. Story originally titled, "Why the Oregon occupiers are citing the Book of Mormon's 'military stud muffin'". The event was connected with the lengthy and complex history of conflict between Mormons and the federal government; Alex Beam describes the Bundys as "Mormon religious fanatics."
January 3
At 11:00 a.m. on January 3, Ammon Bundy called a press conference at the MNWR headquarters building. During the conference, Bundy said the ultimate goal of the militants was to "get the economics here in the county revived" for logging and outdoor recreation, and claimed that they were being supplied by area residents. Despite the smaller estimates of militia at the refuge in early press reports, a reporter from The Oregonian who attended the press conference said he believed there were roughly 20 to 25 people present and that the militants had deployed into defensive positions with elements manning a roadblock, guarding the headquarters entry, and stationed in a fire lookout usually used to watch for forest fires. Additional militiamen occupied the facility's buildings.
Later that day, Harney County Sheriff David M. Ward issued a statement asking residents to avoid the scene and saying that the militants aimed to overthrow the government. He explained, "These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives, to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States." The following day, Ward said at a press conference:
I want to directly address the people at the wildlife refuge: You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County. That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed and unlawful protest. The Hammonds have turned themselves in. It is time for you to leave our community. Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully.
On the evening of January 3, Oregon State Police officials announced that a multi-agency command post would be established the following day to coordinate a response to the situation. The command post was ultimately set up at Lincoln Junior High School in Burns, which had been closed as part of a district-wide school shutdown. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said that he had been briefed by the special agent in charge of the Portland, Oregon, FBI field office and said that federal, state, and local law enforcement were monitoring the situation in detail.
January 4 On January 4, the FBI assumed the lead role in the investigation and announced that it was working with local and state authorities to seek "a peaceful resolution to the situation." The statement also read: "Due to safety considerations for both those inside the refuge as well as the law enforcement officers involved, we will not be releasing any specifics with regards to the law enforcement response." Revised article published January 5, 2016, with title, "Oregon Protesters Vow to Dig In Even as Their Heroes Surrender", by Alexander Smith, Alex Johnson, Joe Fryer and Elisha Fieldstadt. It was later announced by Sheriff David Ward that the Harney County Court had officially appealed for police reinforcements from the sheriffs of neighboring counties. Meanwhile, media reported that the entrance gates to Burns Municipal Airport had been blocked by the Oregon State Police using patrol cars and armored vehicles. Despite the increased presence in and around Burns, by the end of the day on January 4, media noted that no overt police presence was visible in the between the town and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, seemingly underscoring the cautious approach authorities sought to take.
In taking a cautious approach, federal authorities were thought to "be mindful of prior clashes with people who did not recognize government authority," such as the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 and the Waco siege in 1993. These events "ended in bloodshed and became rallying cries for antigovernment militants," in contrast to similar incidents which ended peacefully, such as the 1996 standoff with the Montana Freemen, which was resolved by extended negotiations leading to the group's surrender. "A version of this article appears in print on January 5, 2016, on page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Occupying Federal Land, to Little Response."
Steven E. Grasty, the judge-executive of Harney County, emailed Ammon Bundy requesting that he leave Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. According to Grasty, he received "roughly 100 'F you'" emails in reply.