Oregon Judge Grasty’s patience wanes thin as drastic measures are in the works to be enforced in the near future. In recent Oregon news, Harney County judge Steve Grasty has declared that the small gang of protests at the Wildlife Refuge at Malheur National Forest have overstepped their boundaries and therefore must be held account for the extra security measures, which have been enforced.
Militia’s day of reckoning has final come. Since Ammon Bundy and his band of armed protestors occupied wildlife refuge, on January 2nd, 2016, security measures have been exacerbated. The patience of town leaders and citizens has come to an end. Harney County judge Steve Grasty has called for extra security measures to ensure the safety of both property and wildlife staff. In doing so, Grasty has proposed a bill to fine the armed activists with a hefty daily amount of $70,000. The judge claims the finances are need due to contend with the extra security measurers accumulated by the county. Thus far, the security expenses have included the roadblock erected by the Sheriff’s office to prohibit potential attacks by Bundy and his band. In addition, auxiliary personnel to overseer the encroachment have incurred extra expenses.
The small band of military attire, rifle wielding, nutrition-impoverished insurgents have over welcomed their stay at a federal building in rural Oregon. Judge Steve Grasty addressed the community at a town hall meeting on Monday evening, sending a message to both the local community and Bundy and his men, imploring local residents to refrain from aiding the militia with any and all resources. Regardless of their personal politics, local residents were encouraged to do their part by not tampering with initiatives to remove the band from the wilderness refuge. In addition, judge Grasty’s stated that the bill for the extra security expenses was to be sent to Bundy and his gang. Within this meeting, Harney County sheriff David Ward stated that Bundy and his merry men were on fast approaching deadline and reiterated how unwelcomed the militia are.
Since the start of the unrest, Harney County Public schools in Harney County remained closed. Recently, they have re-opened, allowing students to return to some kind of normalcy.
However, daily activities have not returned to normal for some. Although Bundy and his gang of supporters are physically situated within the trenches of the wildlife refuge, reports have evaluated that they have allies extending beyond the band of men. Intimidation tactics have been employed by supporters of Bundy and his gang, even by visitors of the region. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman commented being verbally threatened while managing daily operations. Reports of the personal information of U.S. Fish and Wildlife employees, which are presumed to have been obtained by the Bundy militia, have been transferred for safety precautions.
Despite the overt, taxing, looming financial threat, the Bundy leader, Ammon Bundy, has not released any statement.