Although the militia men and women occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge have been given a free pass to come and go as they please, law enforcement are drawing the line at them driving stolen federally-owned vehicles into the local Safeway for supplies. From the Harney County Sheriff's office:
An individual is in custody in connection with stolen Malheur National Wildlife Refuge vehicles.
Shortly after noon on Friday, January 15, 2016, Oregon State Police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent, Oregon, at the Safeway in Burns, Oregon. He was arrested on probable cause for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Law enforcement officers recovered two vehicles stolen from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had previously reported the vehicles stolen to the Harney County Sheriff's Office.
OSP troopers and deputies from several county Sheriff's offices responded to the scene.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is grateful for the quick actions from law enforcement," said USFWS spokesperson Megan Nagel. "We will continue to work with law enforcement to recover vehicles bought and paid for by the American people to care for their national wildlife refuge."
[EDIT: See important update below. The man in custody was on federal probation for serious weapons charges] No word from Sheriff Ward on why only one driver was arrested but two vehicles were recovered. Both vehicles were branded with new stickers that read “Harney County Resource Center” to cover the U.S. Fish and Wildlife logos. That’s the new name the militia are insisting be used for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.
Meanwhile, the Bundy militia have allegedly started removing FBI surveillance equipment in the area, something they promised to do in their press briefing this morning.