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Authorities surrounded the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon, Wednesday afternoon. The refuge has been occupied by armed protesters opposed to federal land-use policies since early January. Here's what you need to know:
The surrender begins smoothly, gets tense
Thursday morning, three of the four final occupiers at the refuge surrendered without incident to the FBI, according to the livestream from the scene. The FBI has not confirmed any arrests yet. One occupier named David Fry refused to surrender without his grievances being heard. He finally surrendered after tense negotiations.
Nevada assemblywoman Michele Fiore and Rev. Franklin Graham are present at the refuge.
Late Wednesday, a tentative agreement was reached between the four remaining occupiers and the FBI in a tense negotiation that was streamed online.
It was revealed Thursday morning that Blaine Cooper, one of the Oregon refuge occupation leaders, was arrested by the FBI, according to his wife's Facebook post. Cooper had left the refuge after LaVoy Finicum was shot and killed by authorities.
Wednesday marked 40 days since the occupation began
Protesters first arrived at the refuge on Jan. 2, following a peaceful protest in support of ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond.
In a statement, federal agents said the FBI continued Wednesday to negotiate with occupiers. They surrounded the refuge Wednesday after trying to approach an ATV driver outside barricades they had put up around the occupiers' encampment. The driver ignored them and instead raced back toward the refuge, according to federal agents.
“It has never been the FBI's desire to engage these armed occupiers in any way other than through dialogue, and to that end, the FBI has negotiated with patience and restraint in an effort to resolve the situation peacefully,” Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said in a statement.
“However, we reached a point where it became necessary to take action in a way that best ensured the safety of those on the refuge, the law enforcement officers who are on the scene, and the people of Harney County who live and work in this area.”
Occupiers expected to turn themselves in to authorities
Four armed protesters who remain at the refuge said they planned to turn themselves in to authorities at an FBI checkpoint on Thursday morning, according to The Associated Press.
The Oregonian reported that David Fry,, of Ohio, Jeff Banta of Elko, Nevada, and Sean and Sandy Anderson, of Idaho, are the remaining occupants.
“(Sean) Anderson said they plan to leave their weapons in their vehicles and walk one-by-one to the checkpoint while carrying an American flag,” according to The Associated Press.
At the checkpoint, they expected to meet with Nevada lawmaker Michele Fiore (R-Las Vegas), who was en route to the refuge Wednesday night.
Cliven Bundy, father of occupation leader Ammon Bundy, arrested
On Wednesday night, FBI agents arrested Cliven Bundy as he got off a plane in Portland.
His plane landed around 10:20 p.m., KATU reported. According to Multnomah County Jail records, authorities booked Cliven Bundy into jail just before 11 p.m. Wednesday.
He was jailed on a hold from the U.S. Marshals Service. He has been charged with assault and conspiracy for the 2014 standoff near his Nevada ranch.
Police previously arrested Cliven Bundy's son, Ammon, along with six others on Jan. 26 during a traffic stop outside the refuge. Arizona rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was fatally shot by police after the FBI said he reached for a gun.
The occupiers were charged with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers. In all, authorities have charged 16 people related to the occupation thus far.
Nevada state lawmaker and outspoken pro-gun advocate headed to Burns
Fiore, an outspoken Nevada state lawmaker who made headlines last year after her family posed with multiple guns in a Christmas card -- and before that, when she released a calendar filled with photos of her holding guns -- was headed to Burns Wednesday night.
She announced she would head to Oregon in support of occupiers on Monday, the Las Vegas Sun reported. She planned to meet with Ammon Bundy.
Fiore has called for authorities to release any dash or body camera footage of the Jan. 26 traffic stop that led to Finicum's death.
Some video footage of the stop has been released by the FBI, but the video was shot from a distance and has no sound.
“The grainy footage with no audio — it looks like an ambush of tactical guys. It looks like it might have been hired out,” Fiore told the Las Vegas Sun. “We have questions.”
On an open phone line that was livestreamed on the Internet Wednesday, Fiore worked as a contact point between FBI agents and occupiers.
Livestream of interactions between FBI, occupiers reached more than 60,000
A live phone call that broadcast interactions between FBI agents and protesters on YouTube Wednesday night reached more than 60,000 listeners.
Occupiers could be heard shouting at officials while FBI agents tried to negotiate with them using a bullhorn in the call, broadcast by Gavin Seim. The Associated Press identified Seim as an acquaintance of one of the occupiers.
“At least three of the remaining holdouts at the refuge yelled over each other at times with conflicting ideas from surrendering "in the morning" to "going to their graves," the wire service reported.
