41 Days: An OPB Documentary On The Oregon Occupation
By OPB Staff (OPB)
Feb. 15, 2016 5:23 p.m.
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Duane Ehmer patrols the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge complex with his horse Hell Boy during the occupation of the refuge in early 2016.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was the occupation's de facto spokesperson. After he was killed Jan. 26, Finicum became an even more critical figure in the splintered movement.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
More than 300 people gathered in Burns to march through town, across the packed snow, in protest of the Hammond’s five-year sentence on Jan. 2.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Brandon Curtiss, president of 3% of Idaho, at the Harney County Committee of Safety meeting Friday, Jan. 8, in Burns.
Dave Blanchard / OPB
Those who wanted the armed militants to leave Eastern Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, kept ripping down a sign the occupiers put up, in January.
Kris Millgate / Tight Line Media
A new militant from Arkansas guards the entrance to the occupied refuge on Jan. 14.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
Ryan Bundy told OPB that he and the other armed men occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters will leave if Harney County residents want them to. The self-proclaimed militiamen took over the buildings since Saturday, Jan. 2.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
Ammon Bundy removes a fence separating the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge from ranching land.
Anna King / Northwest Network
One of the protesters, Dylan Anderson, who gave the name "Captain Moroni," guards the entrance to the refuge. "Moroni" said he was disappointed that more protesters did not arrive after a widespread call on social media.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
An armed man with a group called the Pacific Patriots Network. The network arrived in Harney County Saturday, Jan. 9, claiming to secure the scene of the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Dave Blanchard / OPB
An FBI guard guides a truck out of the compound near the Burns Airport.
John Sepulvado / OPB
David Fry, a 27-year-old from Ohio, was one of the last remaining occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He surrendered Feb. 11.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
Hundreds of people rallied to call for armed-occupiers at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to leave.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Harney County Judge Steve Grasty at a community meeting in Burns on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
A meeting in Burns grew tense on Tuesday, Jan. 19, as community members discussed the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that this road within the refuge complex is new construction.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
Outdoor enthusiasts gather at The Narrows on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to protest its occupation by armed militants in January.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
FBI officials said any vehicles approaching the checkpoints outside the refuge would be stopped and searched, and all occupants of the vehicles were to present identification.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Burns Paiute Tribal Chair Charlotte Roderique watches as the FBI releases video of the traffic stop, which led to the arrest of militant leaders and death of LaVoy Finicum.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
State police at a roadblock near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
State troopers monitoring a roadblock near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
FBI footage showing the joint FBI and Oregon State Police traffic stop and OSP officer-involved shooting of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum.
FBI
Riders on horseback wait to follow the hearse of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupier who was fatally shot by police at a road block on Jan. 26.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Mourners wore ribbons, and some pinned squares cut from a blue tarp to their coats, a reference to a nickname some gave Finicum during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
A law enforcement helicopter takes off from the Burns airport. The armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge ended Thursday, Feb. 11.
Dave Blanchard / OPB
A Washington County Sheriff's vehicle blocks the road leading to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The 41-day armed occupation of the refuge ended Thursday, Feb. 11.
Dave Blanchard / OPB
Law enforcement vehicles leave the Burns airport. The armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge ended Thursday, Feb. 11.
Dave Blanchard / OPB
B.J. Soper speaks into a megaphone. Protesters with the Pacific Patriots Network faced a counter protest of Harney County residents during the occupation in Burns in January 2016.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
Harney County Sheriff David Ward expressed his thankfulness for the patience and persistence of law enforcement and the community of Burns. The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge ended Thursday, Feb. 11.
David Fry implored law enforcement to shout “hallelujah” as he turned himself in to FBI agents the morning of Feb. 11. Audio of the final moments before Fry went into FBI custody shows agents fulfilling his request, letting out what sound like relieved "hallelujahs".
Fry’s surrender effectively ended the 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon and weeks of uncertainty for the citizens of Harney County.
OPB was there throughout, getting to know the residents of Harney County and the militants at the refuge. Now, OPB looks back at the nearly six-week occupation in an hour-long special.
What started as a community protest in support of a pair of local ranchers, father and son Dwight and Steven Hammond, ended with an Internet live stream of a 27-year-old Ohioan contemplating suicide, and finally surrendering.
One man died, and 25 other people are charged with crimes related to the occupation.
And after some of the most dramatic and contentious six weeks in Harney County history, the community now looks toward healing.
Listen to the full OPB News documentary special here at the top of the page.
To revisit all of OPB's coverage of the refuge occupation, visit our series page.
Music for the OPB News documentary is courtesy of Melissa Ferrick.
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