By Bronte Price, PolitcKING
A standoff between a self-described armed militia group and federal agents in Oregon finally ended on Thursday. The standoff, which has lasted over a month, ended when the final occupier, David Fry, surrendered to police only after threatening suicide if his “demands” were not met. Four occupiers remained on Wednesday night but three surrendered after an intense night of negotiating.
Photos from Sky 8 show occupiers surrendering, end of #OregonStandoffhttps://t.co/menJ83vbNjpic.twitter.com/1eJWkKM0gy
— KGW News (@KGWNews) February 11, 2016
27-year-old David Fry initially refused to hand over his weapons and surrender to Police. People who supported Fry spoke with him on the phone and tried to dissuade him from committing suicide. Their conversation was live streamed on YouTube to thousands of people.
“I declare war against the federal government because they have been trampling on my first amendment rights, so there is no way to beat this any more but liberty or death," Fry said as he threatened to shoot himself. "Unless my grievances are heard I will not come," he shouted. Supports prayed with Fry as he became more agitated. He told the authorities to kill him multiple times, yelling,"I'm done talking, I'm done praying, that's it." Fry finally surrendered shortly after 11 a.m. PST.
According to an FBI statement, the four final occupiers will appear in court on Friday. There are 16 other people who have already been indicted on federal charges who were also involved in the weeks long standoff.
Senator Ron Wyden said he was happy to see the standoff finally come to an end. “Oregonians across our state are grateful to the Harney County Sheriff’s Department, federal law enforcement, and local and state officials for ending this standoff without additional loss of life.," Wyden said in a statement. "The steady resolve of the Burns community and Harney County leaders like County Judge Steve Grasty and Sheriff Dave Ward have kept this sad episode from sparking something much worse.”
The Oregon militia standoff is finally over after 41 dayshttps://t.co/uJ7M2X3vRr#oregonstandoff
— Mashable (@mashable) February 11, 2016
The occupation took a turn on Wednesday night, when the Nevada rancher, Cliven Bundy, was arrested in Portland while he was on his way to the refuge. Bundy’s sons, Ammon and Ryan, helped orchestrate the refuge takeover and had already been taken into custody in Portland.
This is what Dave Rubin has to say about the Oregon standoff and much more in this episode of The Rubin Report:
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
