From January 2 to February 11, 2016, the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) in eastern Oregon were seized and occupied by an armed group, later called Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, affiliated with private U.S. militias and the sovereign citizen movement following an earlier peaceful march in protest of the prison sentences for ranchers Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven Hammond, who were convicted of arson on federal land, sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and sought clemency from the U.S. president. The occupation received widespread coverage from media outlets.
During the course of the occupation, statements were issued by anti-government activists and sympathetic residents, who criticized the militants' tactics. Other statements of condemnation were issued by legal scholars; federal, state, local, and tribal governments; and other organizations. In the first days, the takeover sparked a debate in the United States on the meaning of the word "terrorist" and on how the news media and law enforcement treat situations involving people of different ethnicities or religions.
Response of authorities
On January 2, the Harney County Sheriff's Office reported the Oregon State Police (OSP) was "handling the incident." At the same time, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the agency was "aware" of the situation. Later that same day, The Guardian observed that there was no visible law enforcement presence in the area. Authorities had not approached the refuge or blocked access to it.
On January 3, Harney County Sheriff David Ward issued a statement asking residents to avoid the scene and saying that the militants aimed to overthrow the government. The following day, Ward said at a press conference:
I want to directly address the people at the wildlife refuge: You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County. That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed and unlawful protest. The Hammonds have turned themselves in. It is time for you to leave our community. Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully.
On the evening of January 3, Oregon State Police officials announced that a multi-agency command post would be established the following day to coordinate a response to the situation. The command post was ultimately set up at Lincoln Junior High School in Burns, Oregon, which had been closed as part of a district-wide school shutdown. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said that he had been briefed by the special agent in charge of the Portland, Oregon, FBI field office and added that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were monitoring the situation.
Also that same day, the FBI assumed the lead role in the investigation and announced that it was working with local and state authorities to seek "a peaceful resolution to the situation." The statement also read: "Due to safety considerations for both those inside the refuge as well as the law enforcement officers involved, we will not be releasing any specifics with regards to the law enforcement response." Ward later announced that the Harney County Court officially appealed for police reinforcements from the sheriffs of neighboring counties. Media outlets reported that the entrance gates to Burns Municipal Airport had been blocked by the Oregon State Police using patrol cars and armored vehicles. Despite the increased presence in and around Burns, by the end of the day on January 4, media noted that no overt police presence was visible in the between the town and refuge headquarters.
In taking a cautious approach, federal authorities were thought to "be mindful of prior clashes with people who did not recognize government authority," such as the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 and the Waco siege in 1993. Those events "ended in bloodshed and became rallying cries for antigovernment militants," in contrast to similar standoffs which ended peacefully, such as the 1996 standoff with the Montana Freemen, which was resolved by extended negotiations leading to the group's surrender.