Reuters/Mike Blake
Armed protestors have occupied a building in a Oregon federal wildlife reserve, according to CNN. The protestors believe that officials have unfairly pushed ranchers off their lands and expanded the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge at their cost. "We are using the wildlife refuge as a place for individuals across the United States to come and assist in helping the people of Harney County claim back their lands and resources," said Ammon Bundy, who is acting as spokesman for the occupiers. Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who came into the national spotlight in 2014 when he staged a standoff with authorities over a Bureau of Land Management dispute.
The seizure of the wildlife refuge came after a protest in support of Dwight and Steven Hammond, two ranchers who have been convicted of arson for in 2001, according to prosecutors, setting a fire that burned over one hundred acres in order to cover up poaching. The Hammonds maintain that they lit the fire to eradicate encroaching invasive plants and prevent wildfires.