Three more militants who were part of the Oregon standoff are now occupying the Multnomah County jail. Duane Ehmer and his horse “Hellboy” surrendered yesterday afternoon, along with Dylan Wade Anderson. Duane Ehmer could often been seen during the standoff, posing for the cameras on his horse, holding an American flag.
Hours later, Jason Patrick followed suit and turned himself in at a roadblock. According to reports, militia leaders from other groups were able to convince them to surrender:
Stewart Rhodes, president of the national Oath Keepers, said his group and others have been working since Tuesday to end the occupation.
"Our focus last night was getting the children off the reserve," Rhodes said. A Washington state Oath Keeper was at the refuge headquarters and "was able to talk a lot of those folks into leaving," he said.
A convoy of four cars carrying occupiers left. A young couple, including a pregnant woman, left the refuge a little later, he said
Jason Patrick was part of Ammon Bundy’s inner circle and had been in Oregon with him for weeks leading up to the takeover of the refuge. He was, like so many others in this occupation, a main player at the Bundy ranch standoff in Nevada in 2014.
Meanwhile, a handful of militant stragglers remain at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. They say there are five people remaining, including David Fry, the self-described IT guy of the militia and Sean Anderson—the man seen screaming on camera yesterday for others to join them and kill any cops that stand in the way. Last night they live streamed as they sat around a campfire, drinking beer, smoking marijuana, calling loved ones and saying “God will direct them through this.” All seemed intent on staying and fighting until the end, although they took a softer tone in the last video of the night. In a late night video by the campfire, David Fry explained that an FBI negotiator told them that if they left now, four of the five remaining would be able to leave freely. According to the stragglers, Sean Anderson would have to face the same felony conspiracy charge as the others who are already behind bars. The stragglers said this was “not right” and truly couldn’t understand why any of them would face charges. Fry went on to say that if the FBI would ensure that none of them would face charges, they would leave. He also helpfully added that they’d even let the FBI inspect their guns to make sure they won’t stolen before they left.
Maybe it is was the beer, maybe it was the weed, maybe it was the sad realization that retired Navy Seals are not going to swoop in to save them. (Yes, they really believed this would happen. Jump below the video for details on how they came to believe this fantastical story.)
Watch their late night video offering to leave: