PD Editorial: Don’t make martyrs of Oregon militants

Three weeks have passed since armed antigovernment protesters seized control of a federal bird sanctuary in eastern Oregon - and a tense standoff began. Local residents, birders and law enforcement officials appear to have come to agreement on a single message for the militants: “Go away.”

But little has happened to ensure that’s going to happen any time soon.

While law enforcement has kept its distance from the buildings, the protesters have draped their own signs over the ones outside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and appear to be settling down for a long stay.

The result is that tensions are growing. “This situation is absolutely intolerable, and it must be resolved immediately,” Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday, apparently in defiance of a request from federal authorities to remain quiet about the takeover. “The very fabric of this community is being ripped apart.” She said the standoff is costing Oregon taxpayers $100,000 a week.

The governor is right that the situation is intolerable. It’s hard to imagine that the standoff would have been allowed to linger for this long if these individuals had been militants wearing backwards caps or turbans instead of cowboy hats. But despite the frustration over government inaction, federal authorities are taking the correct approach in waiting these guys out - and should continue to do so.

Federal authorities also are right to keep the mistakes made during the tragedies at Waco and Ruby Ridge in mind while assessing their next step. The situations are different, but the risks of a similar tragic outcome are high.

At Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1992, federal authorities were trying to take custody of a man named Randy Weaver who had failed to appear at a court hearing on federal firearms charges. The botched attempt by FBI agents to arrest Weaver, resulted in 11-day standoff and the deaths of a U.S. marshal in addition to Weaver’s wife and son.

The standoff in Waco, Texas occurred roughly six months later when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents went to investigate what they believed was an illegal arsenal compiled by a religious sect known as the Branch Davidians. That resulted in a 51-day siege that ended with federal authorities making a military-like assault on the compound. In the gunfire and fire that erupted, much of it caused by sect members themselves, 75 people died, including the group’s leader, David Koresh. Nearly a third of those who perished were children.

This time, however, there are no children involved. There are no innocent bystanders with the militants. There is no individual wanted on an outstanding warrant. In addition, the site of this standoff is so remote and of such little consequence, federal authorities can risk waiting these characters out.

Ammon Bundy, a son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy who defied federal authorities in a 2014 dispute over grazing rights, say they came to the area in support of ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven, who were sent to prison for setting a wildfire on federal land. What Bundy and others need to be reminded is that those two men reported back to prison earlier this month quietly and without incident.

Ideally, Bundy and the others will do the same. Because although the public wants a peaceful resolution, they want accountability as well. ?Unlike his father, Bundy and his buddies can’t be allowed to ride off into the sunset after this standoff.