LaVoy Finicum
LaVoy Finicum
LaVoy Finicum is said to be the spokesman for Citizens For Constitutional Freedom- the militia group that occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles southeast of Burns, in Harney County, on Jan. 2. [undefined]
On January 26, 2016, the FBI and state police conducted a traffic stop during which a stand-off took place and the members of Citizens For Constitutional Freedom. Finicum was driving a white SUV looking truck during an escalated police chase between some of the Citizens For Constitutional Freedom occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. [undefined] As he drove, he slowed down and Ryan Payne left the truck, though it appears that Ryan Bundy remained inside the vehicle with Finicum. He continued at high-speed down the highway only to be stopped by a roadblock created by state police. He had stepped out of the vehicle, but kept trying to get away and hinting at grabbing his 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun. A cop from a distance then shot several times. [undefined] The incident ended LaVoy Finicum's life with several shots in the single digits piercing his body, gunning him down. [undefined] LaVoy Finicum's daughter confirmed that it was her father that died as he was one of the cowboy-hat wearing faces of the takeover. [undefined]
The Atlantic reported:
"...officers also found three loaded guns in the truck, including two.223 caliber semi-automatic rifles and a.38 special revolver.
Only police fired shots.
It has been reported that Ryan Bundy suffered a minor wound in the encounter, but it’s not clear how that happened."
The clash led to the arrests of some of the familiar members of the Citizens For Constitutional Freedom. The rest of the members who stayed in the occupying compound have also been arrested as they exit. Other who still remain have suggested that if the charges are dropped they are willing to leave: "But if they're not willing to do that, we're all just willing to stay here and see what happens.” [undefined]
This has put a pause, or near conclusion, to the occupation's momentum and intensity of their demands.
They have broken many federal laws, and according to The Atlantic: "In an ironic historical twist, The Oregonian notes that the law with the conspiracy charge was originally passed to prosecute Confederate secessionists who took over federal property during the Civil War. It doesn’t appear that anyone was indicted under the law during the war, and it’s seldom used today. It turns out, however, that it’s as illegal to take up arms, seize federal property, and demanding the government relinquish it in 2016 as it was in 1861."
Finicum had planned to release a novel he wrote called, Only by Blood and Suffering: Regaining Lost Freedom. He filed for bankruptcy in 2002 while in Arizona. Finicum was a supporter of Cliven Bundy at the 2014 Nevada standoff. Finicum had good relations with Bureau of Land Management, but Finicum said the Bundy incident caused him to do "a lot of soul-searching" -- and ultimately to stop paying his own grazing fees to the federal agency. [undefined]