Cliven Bundy Made it to Oregon Just in Time to Get Arrested
Cliven Bundy, the Nevada cattle rancher who birthed the Oregon militia movement in more ways than one, was arrested last night on felony conspiracy charges after he tried to join the standoff.
Last night, the FBI began closing in on the four remaining militants who have been holed up inside Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since early January. Though the tense standoff, broadcasted live on YouTube, ended without movement on either side, the occupiers reportedly promised they would turn themselves in sometime Thursday morning.
In the meantime, the FBI says they’ve arrested Cliven Bundy, the father of Oregon militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy, who had his own standoff with police in 2014 when he stopped paying federal grazing fees for his cattle.
Bundy, who was on his way to join the standoff in Oregon, was reportedly taken into custody at the Portland airport and charged with felony conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties. The charge is linked to his 2014 standoff and not the Oregon occupation, authorities say.
He joins both his sons in jail.
Image via Getty. Contact the author at gabrielle@gawker.com.