New video shows deadly confrontation between FBI, Oregon militia
BURNS, Ore. -- New video released by the FBI in Oregon shows the traffic stop Tuesday night involving the Oregon militia that erupted in gunfire and left one follower dead.
LaVoy Finicum died Tuesday when he and other leaders of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon, were stopped by law enforcement officials on a remote road. During the confrontation, the FBI and Oregon State Troopers arrested five main figures in the occupation, including Ammon Bundy, their leader.
Greg Bretzing, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon, released the video during a news conference on Thursday evening.
The video, shot by the FBI from an airplane, shows Bundy's vehicle stopped by police on a road. He and an occupier riding with him -- Brian Cavalier -- were arrested. A white truck driven by Finicum was stopped but took off, with officers in pursuit. The video shows Finicum's vehicle plowing into a snowbank when encountering a roadblock.
The full video, posted to the FBI's YouTube channel, can be seen below.
Warning: This video may be disturbing to some viewers.
A man identified as Finicum gets out of the truck. At first, he has his hands up, but then he reaches into his pocket and he falls into the snow.
"On at least two occasions, Finicum reaches his right hand toward a pocket on the left inside portion of his jacket," said Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge for the FBI in Portland.
"He did have a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the pocket," he said.
Bretzing also said Finicum's truck nearly hit an FBI agent before it got stuck in the snow.
"Actions have consequences," Bretzing said. "The FBI and OSP tried to effect these arrests peacefully."
With Fincium lying in the snow, the video shows the arrest of two other occupiers as they got out of the stuck truck: Ryan Bundy, who is Ammon's brother, and Shawna Cox. Bretzing said another woman was in the truck but was not arrested. He did not identify her.
Bretzing said agents and troopers "provided medical assistance to Finicum" after they were "confident that they had addressed any further threats." He said that happened about 10 minutes after the shooting.
Two loaded .223 caliber semi-automatic rifles and a loaded revolver were found in the truck, Bretzing said.
Bretzing said that when Finicum's truck was first stopped, an occupier riding with him -- Ryan Payne -- got out and surrendered. He said troopers and agents ordered others in the truck to surrender but Finicum sped off.
Bretzing said they believe there are four others who currently remain at the refuge. Since the establishment of checkpoints, a total of nine people have left the refuge. Of those, the FBI released six and arrested three.
"The negotiators continue to work around the clock to talk to those four people in an effort to get them to come out peacefully," Bretzing said.
The occupation by ranchers and others began on Jan. 2 and grew to several dozen people, demanding that the federal government turn public lands over to local control. But the compound has been emptying out since Finicum's death and the arrests.
The last occupiers have been posting YouTube videos demanding assurances they would not be arrested.
"We're still stuck here, four of us. They're telling us it's safe to leave, but it's not safe," a spokesman believed to be occupier David Fry said in a video.
Videos posted by the last occupiers show them around a campfire, along with pickup trucks, an American flag, guns, an old car and assorted clutter.
"We want to live. We want to go home peacefully," one of the men, who was not identified, said in a video posted on Thursday. He was also shown dancing outdoors to a country-western tune with a woman identified as his wife.
Oregon Public Broadcasting spoke with the holdouts and identified them as Fry, who is from Ohio, husband and wife Sean and Sandy Anderson of Idaho, and Jeff Banta of Nevada. Fry told the station that Sean Anderson faces a federal arrest warrant.
In one of the videos posted Thursday, the speaker -- believed to be Fry -- said: "We're asking, just drop the charges and we're willing to go. But if they're not willing to do that, we're all just willing to stay here and see what happens."
Bundy followers have given conflicting accounts of how Finicum died. One said Finicum charged at officers, who then shot him. A member of the Bundy family said Finicum did nothing to provoke the officers.
Raymond Doherty, an Oregon man who said he witnessed the clash, told CBS affiliate KOIN-TV in Portland that he heard about a half-dozen shots over 12 to 15 seconds and couldn't see exactly who was shooting. But he added: "I saw them shooting at each other."
FBI agent Bretzing previously defended the FBI-led operation: "I will say that the armed occupiers were given ample opportunities to leave peacefully."
In a statement issued through his lawyer, Bundy said he was waiting to review the footage because "questions must be answered."
Bundy on Thursday repeated his call for the last occupiers to leave peacefully: "Turn yourselves in and do not use physical force."
Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a tense 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights.
All 11 people under arrest have been charged with a felony count of conspiring to impede federal officers from carrying out their duties through force or intimidation. Three of the 11 were arrested Wednesday night when they left the refuge.
In a criminal complaint Wednesday, federal authorities said the armed group had explosives and night-vision goggles and was prepared to fight.
The charges against Bundy and others say that the refuge's 16 employees have been prevented from reporting to work because of threats of violence.
Finicum's daughter called him a martyr.
"He loved freedom obviously more than his life," Challice Finch told Dallas-Fort Worth TV station KXAS.
A small candlelight vigil was held in Finicum's memory in Burns Wednesday night, KOIN reported.