BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Surrounded by FBI agents in armored vehicles, the last four occupiers of a national nature preserve surrendered Thursday, and a leader in their movement who organized a 2014 standoff with authorities was criminally charged in federal court.
The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge nearly six weeks ago, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires. For the first time since Jan. 2, the federal land was fully under the control of the U.S. government.
A heavy silence hung over the room. A man with aphasia – his stutter allowing him to speak in only a few strained words at a time – pleads with Chris Christie for help with his health at a Nov. 11 town hall-style meeting in Coralville, Iowa.
