Skip to main content
Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Arrests in Oregon standoff – things to know

Highway 395 is blocked at Seneca between John Day and Burns, Ore., by Oregon State police officers the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. A more than 50-mile stretch of highway in Oregon has been closed near where an armed group has been occupying a national wildlife refuge. A group led by Ammon Bundy seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns on Jan. 2 as part of a long-running dispute over public lands in the West. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO LOCAL INTERNET; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Highway 395 is blocked at Seneca between John Day and Burns, Ore., by Oregon State police officers the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. A more than 50-mile stretch of highway in Oregon has been closed near where an armed group has been occupying a national wildlife refuge. A group led by Ammon Bundy seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns on Jan. 2 as part of a long-running dispute over public lands in the West. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO LOCAL INTERNET; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Highway 395 is blocked at Seneca between John Day and Burns, Ore., by Oregon State police officers the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. A more than 50-mile stretch of highway in Oregon has been closed near where an armed group has been occupying a national wildlife refuge. A group led by Ammon Bundy seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns on Jan. 2 as part of a long-running dispute over public lands in the West. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO LOCAL INTERNET; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

By Associated Press 3 min read

BURNS, Ore. (AP) – The FBI has arrested the leaders of an armed group that has occupied a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than three weeks. Here is a rundown of how the arrests and their aftermath:

WHAT HAPPENED?

Militant leader Ammon Bundy and his followers were reportedly heading to a community meeting Tuesday in a small community near the wildlife refuge to explain to local residents their views on federal management of public lands. In a statement, the FBI and Oregon State Police said police arrested Ammon Bundy, his brother, Ryan, and three others during a traffic stop north of Burns. Authorities said an adult male suspect was killed and another suffered non-life threatening injuries when shots were fired. Authorities didn’t identify the person killed, but the Oregonian reports it was an Arizona rancher. Arianna Finicum Brown told the newspaper that the man killed was her father – 55-year-old Robert “LaVoy” Finicum of Cane Beds, Arizona. LaVoy Finicum was a frequent and public presence at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, often speaking

WHY DID AUTHORITIES TAKE ACTION NOW?

The FBI didn’t say Tuesday, although federal officials had come under increasing pressure from Oregon’s governor and local leaders to do something. Bundy’s group had been free to come and go. They’d held frequent news conferences at the site, travelled to meet with sympathizers and others to espouse their views and some even attended a community meeting last week, where local residents shouted at them to leave. Bundy had been in contact with an FBI negotiator and local law enforcement.