SALEM, Ore. — Oregon’s governor expressed anger Wednesday over federal authorities’ handling of the occupation of a national wildlife refuge by an armed group and said she intends to bill the U.S. government for what the occupation is costing state taxpayers.
Gov. Kate Brown said federal officials “must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable.”
Exasperated by a tense situation that has caused fear among local residents since it began Jan. 2, Brown said, “This spectacle of lawlessness must end, and until Harney County is free of it, I will not stop insisting that federal officials enforce the law.”
She said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. She didn’t say what those costs entailed.
Federal authorities didn’t return calls seeking comment Wednesday night.
Brown had originally called the news conference to discuss her agenda for the upcoming legislative session, but she focused on the occupation by Ammon Bundy and his armed group of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in remote southeastern Oregon.
People living in the area strongly voiced their views at a community meeting Tuesday night in Burns, 30 miles north of the refuge. It was the most pointed demonstration yet of local residents’ desire that Bundy and his group go home.
Several people at the meeting spoke directly to Ammon Bundy, who showed up with his brother Ryan and other occupiers. One woman thanked him for drawing attention to ranchers’ complaints about management of federal lands, but told him it’s time to go home.
“Ammon, you need to go home to your family, thank you,” said Jennifer Williams.
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