A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Contrary to what some are asserting, the people who are occupying the headquarters of the Malheur refuge are not terrorists. Yes, they’re armed, some are itching for a fight, and all are piling up violations of federal law at an impressive rate, but so far they’re only trying to draw attention to a political cause. They’re not killing or injuring people, taking hostages, or burning down or blowing up buildings, trying to frighten and intimidate people to effect political change. Instead, they’re preening and strutting, enjoying and exploiting news media coverage of the event, and painting themselves into a corner by making demands to which no government can agree:
Bundy and other men with him say they’re not leaving until Dwight and Steven Hammond are freed from federal prison, their case is examined by an independent investigative board and federally owned land in Harney County, Ore., is relinquished by the government to the people.
As long as they don’t start shooting people, or the critters that take refuge on the Malheur, taking hostages, or something else that must be stopped immediately, law enforcement authorities will not provoke a confrontation, hoping that the occupiers finally recognize the seriousness of their predicament. That will take time: Ammon Bundy and his scofflaw compatriots don’t have an exit strategy. They’re not ready to lose face by packing up and going home. They’ll be there for awhile.
But they’re doofuses, not terrorists. Not yet.
And Dwight and Steven Hammond are not saints.
As Ralph Maughan reports in The Wildlife News, they have a long history of getting crosswise with the criminal justice system — and not only on ranching issues. Consider this from the Oregonian:
According to a court document filed by prosecutors in the arson case, the government’s witness told federal agents “he feared when Steven Hammond learned he had talked to police, that Steven would come to his front door and kill him.”
According to police reports filed as part of the Hammonds’ second sentencing, the boy previously had accused Steve Hammond of physical abuse when he was 16 and living with Dwight and Susan Hammond.
He said the Hammonds disapproved that he’d used a paperclip to carve two initials in his chest, according to a Harney County sheriff’s deputy who interviewed the boy. The teenager told the investigator “Steve used a very coarse sand paper to sand off the initials,” the deputy’s report said. The teen said Dwight Hammond left the room but that Susan Hammond stayed, telling him to clean up afterward and “not to have a pity party,” the report said.
Steve Hammond was charged with criminal mistreatment, but a diversion agreement got the charge dismissed. He had to take anger management classes, perform 40 hours of community service, and stay away from his nephew.
Dwight Hammond explained it was “decided by the family” to sand off the initials, the investigating deputy wrote. None of the Hammonds would say who did the sanding, the investigator’s report said.
No wonder Dwight and Steven are back in the slammer.