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Law cited against Oregon occupation was created to corral Civil War secessionists
The 154-year-old law under which Ammon Bundy and others were arrested this week was created to deal with a nation torn apart by war.
But it made sense for the armed occupiers who holed up at Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to be charged under the Civil-War era statute, experts say, because like the Confederates, the occupiers rejected federal power.
...
The seven men and one woman worked together to control federal property and intended to impede federal officials who work on the refuge from doing their jobs, according to the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors. The refuge belongs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
While used in the last few decades mostly against radical activists like Bundy, the charge originated at a time when entire states rejected federal power.
...
The beliefs and actions that led to the arrest of Bundy and his alleged co-conspirators parallel those of the era that gave the law life, Blight said.
"Bundy and that crowd are sort of latter-day secessionists," he said, because they've demanded federal land be handed over to local control.
The charge against Bundy and at least seven other arrestees stems from the fact that most of them were armed and threatened violence, according to their criminal complaint, preventing 16 federal employees from going to work.
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/charge_against_refuge_occupier.html
But it made sense for the armed occupiers who holed up at Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to be charged under the Civil-War era statute, experts say, because like the Confederates, the occupiers rejected federal power.
...
The seven men and one woman worked together to control federal property and intended to impede federal officials who work on the refuge from doing their jobs, according to the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors. The refuge belongs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
While used in the last few decades mostly against radical activists like Bundy, the charge originated at a time when entire states rejected federal power.
...
The beliefs and actions that led to the arrest of Bundy and his alleged co-conspirators parallel those of the era that gave the law life, Blight said.
"Bundy and that crowd are sort of latter-day secessionists," he said, because they've demanded federal land be handed over to local control.
The charge against Bundy and at least seven other arrestees stems from the fact that most of them were armed and threatened violence, according to their criminal complaint, preventing 16 federal employees from going to work.
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/charge_against_refuge_occupier.html
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