At a community meeting, most residents said they disagreed with the armed takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge — but were glad to have added attention on local land use issues.
Rick Bowmer / AP
BURNS, Oregon — When an Oregon sheriff asked residents Wednesday night at a community meeting if they wanted the armed occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to go home, almost every hand in the room went up.
Most residents at the meeting said they didn't condone the tactics of Ammon Bundy and his followers — even though they agreed the federal government was overreaching on land use issues in their area.
About 500 people stood shoulder to shoulder inside the hall at the county fairgrounds for the meeting called by Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward. The sheriff told residents he shared many of their frustrations, but he said, change must come through appropriate, legal channels.
"There's a lot of things I disagree with in this world, but we can work through it like adults," Ward said.
Bill Winn, whose family has lived in Harney County since the 1800s, became emotional as he spoke.
"I don't agree with the way that this has all turned out, with taking over the headquarters at the refuge," he said. "But on the other hand, I do appreciate this being put before America."
A number of residents said they had gone to speak personally with the men at the wildlife refuge. The occupiers were polite, kept the area clean, and didn't seem to pose a threat, they said.
Even so, it was time for them to go home, Rodney Johnson said.
"They've done their jobs, and we can take it from here," he said.
Merlin Rupp said he was glad the occupiers had brought more attention to the 5-year prison sentences of Steve and Dwight Hammond — who got the "rottenest deal that ever was" for burning around 100 acres of federal land.
"[The occupiers] ain't hurting a damn thing down there," he said. "They're waking people up."
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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