The Ammon Bundy-led militants at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge wanted to make it easier to get between the federal buildings so they used federal equipment to build a new road, causing severe damage to the delicate ecosystem of the refuge in the process:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife representatives have also confirmed the Oregon militants are now in control of approximately 4,000 archaeological artifacts and archeologists are concerned about their fate:
"There's a huge market for artifacts, especially artifacts that have provenance, where you can identify where they came from," said Carla Burnside, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refuge archeologist.
More than 300 recorded prehistoric sites are scattered across the refuge, including burial grounds, ancient villages and petroglyphs. Some of the artifacts — including spears, stone tools, woven baskets and beads — date back 9,800 years.
But, most concerning is the Ammon Bundy-led militants have been meeting with so-called “constitutional” sheriffs from Western states. In Grant County, Oregon—which borders the refuge and Harney Couny— is Sheriff Glenn Palmer. A well-known “hero” of right-wing extremists and a member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). The leader of CSPOA is Richard Mack, the former Arizona sheriff who stood arm-in-arm with Cliven Bundy during the Bundy Ranch standoff. Small world, eh? Sheriff Palmer confirmed meeting with the "patriots" (his words):
“I had no idea who I was meeting with when we had lunch (Tuesday),” he said. “I walked in, I realized who they were and I sat and listened to them ... They actually wanted me to come down there and make a stand, and I said ‘Not without the (Harney County) sheriff’s blessing.’”
Palmer said he has spoken to Harney County Sheriff David Ward and told him he would not interfere without permission. Palmer said he has “a pretty good working relationship” with the sheriff from the neighboring county.
Palmer said, however, that he was not willing to excoriate the occupation either.
“About the only thing (Ward) really told me is I’m welcome to come down there if I would shame and humiliate them into giving up and I said, ‘No, I won’t do that,”’ Palmer said. “I’m not in the business of denouncing or shaming or humiliating anybody.”
No idea? Sure. So, the sheriff in the neighboring county seems to be all-in with his support of the right-wing militia men and women illegally occupying and destroying federal property. Hello, Department of Justice? You might want to take a look at Sheriff Glenn Palmer.
But, he’s not the only totally frightening sheriff the militia have been meeting with this week. LaVoy Finicum (blue tarp man) was noticeably absent from the cameras this week. Chris Zanda of counterpunch.org was in Cedar City, Utah this week when he heard LaVoy Finicum doing a radio interview … in Cedar City, Utah. So he drove over and confirmed LaVoy was in Utah, not Oregon, freely traveling 20 hours from the refuge with no law enforcement to stop him. Why would Finicum be in Cedar City, Utah? He was most likely there to rally militia support from Sheriff Mark O. Gower, another card-carrying member of CSPOA.
Will these extremely rightwing sheriffs be coming to the aid of the lawbreakers at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge? Ammon Bundy claims many of them are contacting the militia:
"We're reaching out to these sheriffs, and to be frank, most of them have reached out to us," Bundy said.
Why is the FBI allowing them to travel so freely to rally support, visit their families and bring back reinforcements? The protest does appear to be growing larger and more heavily armed. Ammon Bundy is allegedly holding a meeting tonight to announce an “exit strategy,” but all indications are that they are settling in for the long haul. And the FBI seems content to wait it out. But, for how long?