Every statement but one the following story is true.
In order to cover up other illegal activities, two African-American men set fire to federal property. The fire spread, eventually consuming over 100 acres of land and property. They were tried in federal court (because the arson was on federal property) and sentenced to five years in prison. The length of the sentence was upheld on appeal. In response a group of heavily armed black men have occupied a nearby federal government facility. They have defied orders to leave and are demanding control of a zone where existing governments would have no authority so that they can be free. One spokesman has said, “It doesn’t have to stop here. This could be a hope that spreads through the whole country, the whole United States. Everybody’s looking for this hope because the government has beat us, and oppressed us, and took everything from us; they will not stop until we tell them no.”
The one untrue statement is that the men are black. In fact, they are all white; and the story is evolving as this is written. The original crime was simply hunting deer in a wildlife refuge. Then the hunters set fire to the land to cover up their crime and burned 139 acres. Arson on federal land carries a mandatory minimum five year prison sentence. That may sound extreme, but arson is a very dangerous crime, especially in the Northwest where so many wildfires have spread out of control. Certainly arson is more dangerous than some of the drug possession charges that have sent other young men to prison.
Protesters have occupied the Headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife refuge. Click here to see the protesters describing their plan to occupy the facilities and land for the long term and their appeal for others to arm themselves, come to the refuge and take the wildlife refuge for their private use. That constitutes advocating the violent overthrow of our government and treason.
Up to this point in time, law enforcement officials are standing back and hoping for a peaceful resolution – perhaps a wise move, but not one that would have happened in Ferguson or Baltimore. Imagine the law enforcement response if black men protesting in those cities had armed themselves with assault rifles and occupied a federal building then called for supporters across the country to arm themselves and join the protest.
What if heavily armed Cherokees took over the headquarters of the Smoky Mountains National Park and demanded that the federal government turn it over to them? (The Cherokees actually had a Supreme Court Decision saying that the land IS theirs.) Would law enforcement just back away?
This treason is led by the Oathkeepers, a well organized and well armed national movement with an anti-government history. They were the heavily armed, military-clad vigilantes who showed up to patrol the streets of Ferguson, Missouri when they felt the police were too easy on black protesters who violated laws. Clearly the Oathkeepers think that the standard of justice for them is different from the standard of justice for others.
Militia movements of this kind have been involved in far more American law enforcement deaths than Muslim terrorists and they are near the top of the FBI’s list of domestic terrorist organizations. Will our laws be enforced, or has right wing anti-government treason become acceptable in America? We will soon know the answer.