Last week’s deadly confrontation in rural Oregon between authorities and an armed militia group occupying a federal government building represented a major tactical shift for law enforcement’s handling of the situation and could fuel more anti-government activity in the near future, Fordham Law Professor James A. Cohen said this week.
Details are only beginning to emerge about what happened during the January 26 traffic stop along Highway 395 near Burns, Oregon, that left one militia member dead, another injured, and produced eight arrests, including militia leader Ammon Bundy. According to the authorities, LaVoy Finicum, an informal spokesperson for the group, was shot when he reached into his coat after he was told not to move.
Bundy and his armed militia, identifying themselves as the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles southeast of Burns, on January 2.
The group sought the release of two Oregon ranchers sentenced to five years in prison for arson on federal lands and decried what they saw as the federal government’s takeover of private lands in the West.
On January 26 authorities set up checkpoints outside the refuge, where a small group of Bundy’s militia still remains. These checkpoints will deter growth at that particular location but there are plenty of other gathering places for people who believe government is out of control, Cohen said.
“The adherents of this protest movement, if you want to call it that, are only going to become more numerous and vocal,” Cohen said. “They will use the death of this person, who was their informal spokesman, as a call to arms, literally.”
For weeks, authorities appeared content to allow militia members to occupy the refuge rather than risk a bloody confrontation. Their strategy changed abruptly earlier this week for reasons unknown, Cohen said.
A potential confrontation between Bundy’s group and another militia group, who came to ostensibly de-escalate the situation, might have motivated authorities to act when they did, Cohen said. The occupation’s $500,000 cost for Oregon taxpayers might also have led authorities to seek a quicker resolution.
“What’s changed is the extent to which their occupation became more controversial over time,” Cohen said.
The eight militia members arrested Tuesday were charged with a federal felony of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats.
It’s unclear whether authorities obtained arrest warrants for the militia members. Law enforcement might have bypassed obtaining warrants to prevent the risk of leaks, Cohen said, noting that enough probable cause existed for the charges to render such warrants unnecessary.
Law enforcement orchestrated the arrests dozens of miles from the refuge, he surmised, to reduce the potential for confrontation. Bundy and his group were traveling to John Day, Oregon, about 100 miles north of the refuge, where the militia leader had been expected to give a speech later that night, according to media reports.
When authorities and Bundy’s group came into contact, shots were fired. What prompted the gunfire is unclear. Neither authorities nor militia members have provided a detailed account of the conflict.
The FBI has released aerial surveillance video showing the shooting death of Finicum. Officers’ “vestcam” footage, if such footage existed, could provide the situation a greater measure of clarity, Cohen said.
In the interim, the death of Finicum during the traffic stop will galvanize people who might not have agreed with the actions of Bundy’s militia but believe individual rights are in danger. Finicum will become a martyr among this movement, Cohen predicted.