page_title: Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
section_title: Immediate aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge / January 26 arrests and shooting / Immediate aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: LaVoy Finicum in Creative Commons YouTube video posted by Blaine Cooper, January 22, 2016, four days before his shooting.
context_page_description: On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February 11, 2016. Their leader was Ammon Bundy, who participated in the 2014 Bundy standoff at his father's Nevada ranch. Other members of the group were loosely affiliated with non-governmental militias and the sovereign citizen movement.
  The organizers were seeking an opportunity to advance their view that the federal government is constitutionally required to turn over most of the federal public land they manage to the individual states, in particular land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Forest Service, and other agencies. In 2015, the militants believed they could do this by protesting the treatment of two area ranchers convicted of federal land arson, who they believed were wrongly convicted. This is despite the fact that the men in question, father and son Dwight and Steven Dwight Hammond, did not want their help.
context_section_description: Immediately after the shooting and arrests, officials stated that Finicum was reaching for a handgun in his pocket when he was shot by a state trooper. The FBI found a loaded 9mm Ruger SR9, a gift from his stepson, in Finicum's left jacket pocket.
  Both of the Bundy brothers and three other militants were arrested. They faced "federal felony charges of conspiracy to impede federal officers from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats" (Title 18, United States Code, Section 372). The driver of the Jeep and Victoria Sharp, a passenger in Finicum's truck, were released without charges. Medical assistance was given to Finicum approximately 10 minutes after the shooting.
  Prior to the video of the action being released, some of the militants and supporters had claimed that Finicum was cooperating with the police when he was shot. This included a claim by Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (who was not present at the arrest) that "he was just murdered with his hands up." Cliven Bundy was quoted as saying that Finicum was "sacrificed for a good purpose." At a news conference, officials had initially declined to comment on the Finicum shooting because the encounter was still under investigation, but they later released surveillance video of the incident, which officials said shows Finicum reaching for a handgun after feigning surrender, but Finicum's family continued to dispute the nature of the shooting, claiming that he was shot in the back while his hands were in the air, and denied the FBI's assertion that Finicum was armed at the time of his death. Finicum's public autopsy was performed on January 28, but officials withheld the autopsy report from the press until March 8. The Finicum family commissioned a private autopsy, but declined to make the results public.
  Three others were arrested in separate actions: Peter Santilli and Joseph O'Shaughnessy were arrested locally, while Jon Ritzheimer was placed under arrest by the FBI in Peoria, Arizona, after he had voluntarily surrendered.
caption: LaVoy Finicum
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