The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has released video of the shooting death of one of the armed occupiers of a federal wildlife refuge in the northwestern state of Oregon.  

FBI spokesman Greg Bretzing said the footage was being released “in the interest of transparency” to counter inaccurate and inflammatory accounts about what happened in the shooting of Robert Finicum.

The video, shot by the FBI from an airplane, shows a vehicle being driven by Bundy stopped by police on a road. A white truck driven by Finicum was stopped but sped away, with officers in pursuit.

The video then shows Finicum’s vehicle going into a snowbank when encountering a roadblock.

Finicum gets out of his vehicle with his hands up, but Bretzing said “on at least two occasions,” Finicum reaches his right hand toward a pocket on the left inside portion of his jacket.

The spokesman said Finicum, who was an Arizona rancher, had a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in his pocket.

Bretzing also said Finicum’s truck nearly hit an FBI agent before it got stuck in the snow.

Arrests

The nearly monthlong standoff at the wildlife refuge between authorities and a group of armed occupiers appears to be winding down.

The FBI and Oregon State Police say two members of the group, Duane Leo Ehmer and Dylan Wade Anderson, were arrested late Wednesday afternoon as they were leaving the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. A third man, Jason Patrick, was arrested a few hours later.

Authorities said the men had been in contact with them during the day, and that each had chosen to turn himself in.

The arrests occurred a day after the group’s leader, Ammon Bundy, and seven of his followers were arrested at a highway checkpoint as they were headed to a community event. Finicum was shot the same day.

After making his first court appearance hours after his arrest, Bundy issued a statement through his lawyer urging his remaining followers to leave the refuge.

“Please stand down,” Bundy said. “Go home and hug your kids. This fight is ours for now in the courts. Please go home.”

Authorities said all those arrested will be charged with conspiracy “to impede officers of the United States from their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats.”

Standoff

The standoff began early this month when Bundy and his followers seized the Malheur refuge to protest the jailing of two local ranchers who were convicted of arson.

The group complained about the way the federal government manages the land it owns, and called for transferring it to local control.

Law enforcement officials have kept a low profile near the refuge, mindful of similar protests in years past that sometimes have ended in large-scale violence.

But as the occupation of the refuge dragged on, a growing number of residents in the nearby town of Burns had called for authorities to end the siege.

Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan, who was also arrested Wednesday, are the sons of anti-government Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. The elder Bundy was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights on federally owned lands.

Watch the edited version of the video release below.

Source: VOA

  fbi, occupier, roadblock, robert finicum, shooting