Here’s What Oregon Ranchers Were Doing Immediately BEFORE They Were Shot

Just as many people had predicted and feared, the weeks-long armed standoff between protesters and federal authorities regarding the occupation of a wildlife refuge in rural Oregon descended into gunfire and violence on Tuesday.

It has been widely reported that the leader of the armed protest, Ammon Bundy, was arrested along with seven others by the FBI following a purported traffic stop.

Unfortunately, it has also been reported that shots were fired during the arrest, injuring at least one protester and killing another.
According to Fox News, the man who was shot and killed was Robert “Lavoy” Finicum, a 55-year-old father of 11 who had acted as a spokesman for the group. Finicum had previously stated publicly that he would rather die than be taken into federal custody, and authorities are claiming that he refused to drop his weapon after being ordered to do so.

But both the Bundy and Finicum families disputed those claims, alleging that Finicum was essentially executed while unarmed and in submission to authorities, according to a separate report by Fox News.

Ammon Bundy reportedly passed along word to his family that Finicum was cooperating with the police before he was killed.

“I want the world to know how my father was murdered today,” read a Facebook post reportedly written by Finicum’s daughter, Thara Tenney. “His hands were in the air and he was shot in the face by the American authorities. Ammon Bundy reported there are six witnesses to this evil.”

The other man shot and injured by the police was believed to be Ammon Bundy’s older brother Ryan.

All of the individuals arrested were being charged under a statute that makes it a federal felony to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats.

It remains to be seen if this incident will mark the end of the armed protest movement ostensibly on behalf of ranchers concerned over the federal control of land in the United States and its impact on their livelihoods.

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