Tag Archives: Ryan Bundy

Ryan Bundy Speaks: The Bureau Of Land Management Is ‘Illegitimate’ And ‘Unconstitutional’

(DCNF) Ryan Bundy blasted the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency he was taken to court for defying, in an interview with E&E News released Monday.

Bundy has been taken to court twice for his part two armed standoffs with federal agents over land rights issues. Bundy participated in a 2014 standoff with BLM officers on his father’s ranch in Nevada and a 2016 armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. He was not convicted in either case.

“BLM is an illegitimate organization, they’re unconstitutional, I won’t speak with them,” Bundy told E&E News when asked about the possibility of another situation similar to the 2014 standoff.

Bundy along with his father and brother led dozens of armed men in a showdown with federal officials who were attempting to impound the family’s cattle over unpaid grazing fees. The BLM officers committed serious ethical and likely legal violations while conducting the raid.

Federal prosecutors charged the Bundys with conspiracy and other acts, but the judge dismissed the case after evidence showed multiple instances of prosecutors hiding and lying about evidence favorable to the Bundys. The case was dismissed “with prejudice,” baring a retrial.

The BLM may try again to impound the Bundys’ cattle now that the men are out of prison.

“They’re not going to take our cattle. And we will do, I’ll say that we will do what we’ve always said we’ll do, we’ll do whatever it takes to maintain our rights. They’re not going to gather our cattle,” Ryan Bundy told E&E News.

Written by: Tim Pearce

This article was republished with permission from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

One Dead, Five in Custody After Shots Fired During Confrontation Between Oregon Protestors and FBI

One man is dead and five in police custody after the group occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Burns, Oregon, reportedly exchanged gunfire with the FBI and the Oregon State Police during a highway traffic stop Tuesday.

Oregon Live reported that Ryan Bundy, 43, suffered a gunshot wound, and was taken into custody along with Ammon Bundy, 40, Ryan W. Payne, 32, Brian Cavalier, 44, and Shawna J. Cox, 59 on felony charges of “conspiracy to impede federal officers.”

KATU News reported that “there was some sort of engagement involving shots fired” on Highway 395 around 5 p.m. between Burns and John Day, where the group was traveling for a community meeting.

The group of protesters initially occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge headquarters in early January, in support of two ranchers who were forced to serve mandatory minimum sentences after they were convicted of arson on federal lands.

Prior to the occupation, Ammon Bundy, the son of rancher Cliven Bundy of Nevada, asked supporters to come out to the refuge and encouraged “patriots” to “stand up not stand down.”

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown wrote two letters to the federal government Wednesday asking for help removing the group, whom she referred to as “armed criminals.”

[UPDATE: Bundy Family Claims Protestor was Unarmed, had Hands Up When Killed by FBI]