In a surreal scene mixing elements of Stormfront, Aryan Nations and Waiting for Gufman, the son of Cliven Bundy, a hodgepodge of rightwing and anti-Islam activists and local Oregon militia members have occupied the sleepy visitors’ center at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon in an apparent bid to provoke a confrontation with federal law enforcement.
The center was closed for the weekend.
The dispute centers on Oregon rancher Dwight Hammond Jr and his son who are scheduled to report to prison on Monday for acts of arson committed on federal land.
In a video released New Year’s Eve, Ammon Bundy said he had begun “to understand how the Lord felt about the Hammonds. I began to understand how the Lord felt about Harney County and about this country. And I clearly understood that the Lord was not pleased with what was happening to the Hammonds… If we allowed the Hammonds to continue to be punished, there would be accountability.”
According to the Associated Press, Bundy says he and his fellow militia members are planning to occupy the building “for years.”
