--- title: Oregon Militia Standoff: Why the Feds Are Holding Back description: The law has time on its side canonical: https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-05T02:01:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:38.573Z article:section: Politics og:title: Oregon Militia Standoff: Why the Feds Are Holding Back og:description: The law has time on its side og:url: https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af2a6a6ebdc9558/698877822dce01fd329e72d7/ammon-bundy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Ammon Bundy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Oregon Militia Standoff: Why the Feds Are Holding Back twitter:description: The law has time on its side twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af2a6a6ebdc9558/698877822dce01fd329e72d7/ammon-bundy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Feds Have Not Ended the Oregon Militia Standoff > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=551914f8-d560-423e-9e76-de45ae4be259&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Inside A Christian Pot Shop [Watch (HLS stream): Inside A Christian Pot Shop](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vz4fpqkC.m3u8) (5:22)  _Published 2014-04-03. Bryan and Lanette Davies run a Christian medical marijuana dispensary in Sacramento. After God told Bryan to open a cannabis shop, the couple say they have been doing God's work in providing natural care to the sick._  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Jan 5, 2016 2:01 AM UTC  Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Rick Bowmer—AP  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Jan 5, 2016 2:01 AM UTC It’s been two days since a group of armed militiamen seized a federal building in Oregon, broadcasting grievances with the government amid open preparations for the prospect of a violent clash. Locals schools have been closed for the week. The county courthouse is shuttered. Yet so far there has been little visible law enforcement response. And while that may frustrate or confuse many Americans, it’s probably an indication that law enforcement is handling a delicate situation correctly. In an armed confrontation with extremists, the first rule is to proceed carefully, according to former federal officials involved in some of the trickiest standoffs in recent memory. “You don’t want to do anything precipitous that would heighten the degree of confrontation,” says Tom Kubic, the former FBI special agent in charge of the bureau’s 1996 standoff with the Montana Freemen, an antigovernment fringe group holed up on a compound from which they’d been legally evicted. “The key is to be very cautious, go slow, and take a look at and understand what is being asked for.” **Read More:** [_Republican Presidential Candidates Respond to Oregon Standoff_](http://time.com/4166068/oregon-standoff-ted-cruz-marco-rubio/) A light touch suits the Oregon incident for several reasons. One is the lack of an imminent threat. The militia members are occupying an empty building on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a marshy oasis in the high desert of remote southeast Oregon, a half-day’s drive from the nearest mid-size city. There are no hostages or civilians currently at risk. No blood has been spilled. The militia group, which on Monday christened itself the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, does not even have a clear set of demands. Which isn’t to say they might not be dangerous. The occupiers had been part of a demonstration Saturday in nearby Burns, Ore., to protest the sentences of two local ranchers convicted of arson. A hard-core faction split off and broke into the snowy wildlife refuge to dig in against government “tyranny.” Among their leaders are sons of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada cattle rancher whose refusal to pay more than $1 million in fees and fines for grazing rights on government land [triggered a massive 2014 standoff with government authorities](http://time.com/63528/the-armed-rebellion-on-a-nevada-cattle-ranch-could-be-just-the-start/) and made the family a cause celebre among militiamen and adherents of the so-called Patriot movement. “The main reason we’re here is because we need a place to stand,” [according to](http://www.opb.org/news/article/militiamen-break-into-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge-building/) Ammon Bundy, a leader of the group. Bundy said the group posed no public threat but if government officials were combative, then “lives could be lost.” Lives have been lost in the past. The federal government is still haunted by catastrophic standoffs like the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidians compound near Waco, Tex., which left scores dead, and the 1992 confrontation at Ruby Ridge in northern Idaho, which killed a federal marshal and two civilians. Those incidents became rallying cries for the radical right—and a source of inspiration to domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the perpetrators of the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168. Law enforcement is loathe to let a wildlife reserve in a swath of the West where the coyote population outnumbers people to become a similar touchstone. “These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers,” said county sheriff Dave Ward, “when in reality these men had alternative motives, to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States.” That’s why federal authorities are handling the situation with kid gloves for now. After Ruby Ridge and Waco, the Department of Justice conducted a review and issued new guidelines for defusing such confrontations. In 1994, the FBI created a Critical Incident Response Group, whose specialized personnel—including hostage negotiators and behavioral scientists—are on hand to assist field bureaus as they tackle crises. One tactic is to employ third-party intermediaries to negotiate. In the Freemen standoff, which was peacefully resolved, [the FBI used 42 third-party negotiators](http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/year.in.review/us/freemen/freemen.index.html). Some of them were local elected officials. Other figures were less reputable, but better able to channel the sense of radical grievance that drove the standoff. At Ruby Ridge and again at the Freemen compound in Montana, the bureau deployed James “Bo” Gritz, a Vietnam vet well known on the fringe for [his virulent racism](https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/bo-gritz), as an emissary. When you’re dealing with people who reject government authority, the government isn’t the best messenger. “Sometimes you have to go that way in order to break the ice and get a dialogue going,” says Robin Montgomery, a former FBI special agent who ran the bureau’s command post at Ruby Ridge and is now the police chief in Brookfield, Conn. “You’ve got to figure out who’s in charge on the inside, and figure out who’s the best person on the outside to make that connection.” Another reason for the feds to be cautious is to keep an isolated group from becoming martyrs. The militia group has claimed to number some 150, but could number a tenth that size. They are, in some ways, too radical for the far right. Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, an antigovernment group affiliated with the Patriot movement, told TIME the seizure of the refuge was “a horrendous mistake that makes us look like the aggressors.” While the Bundys are respected in these circles, “Ammon is surrounded by idiots and hotheads,” Rhodes says. Among his confederates are Blaine Cooper, who called for Sen. John McCain to be arrested for treason; Jon Ritzheimer, who is known for organizing anti-Muslim rallies and pushing to arrest federal elected officials, and an electrician from Montana whose cartoonish behavior led some on the right believe he’s a federal plant. But restraint can also set a troubling precedent. After authorities backed off at the Bundy ranch to avoid bloodshed, federal officials promised Cliven Bundy would be held responsible for his crimes. “Cliven Bundy has had multiple court orders to remove his cattle from federal public lands and he has not paid his grazing fees and he has not abided by the law,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell [told ](http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bundy-blm/interior-chief-bundy-will-be-held-accountable)the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We will continue to pursue that.” Added Jewell: “The wheels of justice move at their own pace … I am confident this issue is going to be appropriately resolved.” But Bundy still hasn’t paid up. His supporters believe they got the better of the Feds. Now they are trying their luck again. Prudence has brought its own set of problems. “It does embolden folks to see the government will not take aggressive action,” says Montgomery. “It is a conundrum, isn’t it?” To some liberals, there is a racial dimension as well. In recent urban uprisings, authorities have been quick to deploy SWAT teams and tear gas canisters. At times during the Ferguson protests, unarmed civilians were arrested for standing still on public streets for longer than five seconds. “One could not imagine a group of armed black men taking over an unoccupied federal building in one of our nation’s cities as they have in Oregon,” said Rep. Donna Edwards, a Democrat running for a Maryland Senate seat. The FBI has not said much about how it intends to handle the Oregon standoff. The bureau did not reply to an inquiry from TIME. A statement issued over the weekend said simply that it was “working with the Harney County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation.” **Read More:** [_White House Won’t Call Oregon Standoff Terrorism_](http://time.com/4166545/white-house-oregon-standoff-terrorism/) Still, a laissez-faire approach strikes observers on both sides as smarter than the alternative. It takes time to talk down radicals: the Freemen standoff lasted 81 days. That, says Rhodes, should be a model for federal intervention. “They need to back off and let this drag off so that it ends in a peaceful way,” Rhodes says. “If they go in there and crush these guys instead of waiting them out, there will be a serious reaction across the country.” ## Transcript [00:00] Good morning, Sacramento. This is Bryan Davies [00:04] and Lanette Davies. [ INAUDIBLE ] I normally just pray, [00:07] thank you lord, thank you lord, thank you lord. Thank you [00:11] lord, for this chance. Thank you, lord, for everything. Thank [00:14] you lord that it's a blessing that Lanette is. I have a fear of [00:17] praying and asking for something. Since you're praying [00:20] against his will, you're praying for evil. Well at this point in [00:23] time I start praying, please help me, Lord. Help me, Lord. [00:26] Tell me what to do. I need to get back in the business. I [00:29] need to do something to be able to earn money. He said, [00:31] open up a pot shop. And the Lord said, who are you [00:36] not to do my will? [ MUSIC ] This has absolutely has been [00:40] a ministry that has been ordained by God. So it is a [00:44] christian dispensary, however, it is run by christians. Not all [00:47] my employees are necessarily christian. It is not something [00:50] that I require from them. Many people will stop because [00:54] they are offended not by the marijuana but by the [00:55] christianity. And it's a strangest thing. I was pissed that they [00:57] open it up. It was not only embarrassing to me, [01:02] it was this is, this is wrong, what are you doing? LIke I don't [01:04] wanna be a part of it. When God told me to open up a [01:06] cannabis shop, I go on the internet. [ SOUND ] They told us [01:09] to target men between the ages of 20 and 30 [01:13] years old because they'll spend the most on cannabis. We [01:16] had a competitor, who used to have Bikini Wednesday. [01:22] [ LAUGH ] Instead, I have a huge amount of elderly that [01:24] are coming by and, you know, they've been taking [01:26] handfuls, poundfuls of pharmaceuticals and getting sicker [01:29] off of the pharmaceuticals! And they come over and say, do [01:31] you have anything on this disease, or this disease. Or, are [01:35] there any studies on this, and how do I get a cannabis [01:37] recommendation? This has been, the whole time, has been [01:40] an education process, so that people could take a look at a [01:43] patient, and not see a stoner. Oh, you work there, that [01:45] means that you get high all the time. It's like actually, no, [01:48] we don't. We have people that come in here and they have [01:51] cancer, and some of the people die. A lot of 'em were [01:54] Christians and believers who were pissed at God. Yeah. [01:56] So that's my whole Sunday Prayer started here. In the [01:58] name of my lord, Jesus Christ, if any evil is in this room, [02:03] may the lord rebuke it. I'm always watching the clock like, [02:07] is it six o'clock yet? Cuz I'm eager to pray. And we pray for [02:11] everyone. Even patients join in on our prayer. We wanna [02:13] thank you for Lanette, Teva, Joe, Jeff, Ronnie [02:15] [ CROSSTALK ] We've actually had employees [02:19] that didn't want to participate for whatever reason [02:20] [ UNKNOWN ], and it's okay. We're not here to judge you, [02:22] one way or another. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom [02:24] come. I've [02:29] been coming here for four years, and I'm a very satisfied [02:33] customer. [ INAUDIBLE ] You know what I'm saying, you [02:35] cannot judge people for sinning differently than you. Amen. [02:36] Amen. Thank you. [ CROSSTALK ] And that one [02:40] lady, and what she said was, God's God and you know [02:43] what, I've got cancer and I need all the prayers I can get. [02:44] [ MUSIC ]. I think our court case is something that God has [02:48] provided for us as an opportunity. We did keep completely [02:52] clean records. Everything was absolutely done correctly, to [02:56] the point that we did pass that audit with flying colors. Cana [02:58] Care owes the IRS more than $ 800, 000 in income [03:03] taxes. At issue is this 1982 law, that bans the deduction of [03:07] expenses for trafficking and controlled substances. They [03:10] allow you to take the cannabis as your deduction, but they [03:14] disallow you all the legal expenses. So the IRS came back [03:17] and said give us 194, 000 and they will drop [03:21] everything, and I said no, I wanna go to court. But then they [03:25] make this deal with you, if you give us a couple extra [03:28] percent of gross sales, this all goes behind you. [ MUSIC ]. [03:31] So is it illegal federally or is not illegal federally? Because [03:34] you'll allow us to stay in business if we give you more [03:37] money. [ MUSIC ] Crusaders For Patients Rights is my [03:40] organization. It's kinda my, basis of what I do. Remove [03:42] federal barriers for medical and scientific cannabis [03:44] research, and create [ CROSSTALK ]. We have no [03:48] problems putting together a protest. And we actually have [03:52] done protests at the federal court building and we've done [03:55] candlelight vigils. But even now, churches have even [03:59] come on board. There are several of them that have [04:01] actually said, you know, we don't have a problem with [04:03] medicinal cannabis. They have none. As a matter of fact, [04:05] they wanna have those options open. I use cannabis at [04:09] night. I usually use a pipe, a small amount, and it usually is, [04:12] you know, a couple of tokes and I go to bed. He has a pretty [04:17] gnarly disease. He have [ UNKNOWN ]. I had never seen [04:19] him sleep through a night until Cannabis. Until he used [04:22] Cannabis. I had never seen him sleep through a night. And [04:24] we were married 25 years. I go straight back to, you know, [04:28] God created this as a man made herb. It is a medicine. And [04:32] it works as a medicine. And when it comes down to it, [04:34] God's commandment to us is to take care of the sick and [04:38] ill. Let me ask you this, did God create [04:43] pot? I know he did. [ CROSSTALK ] Created everything. [04:46] And you know what I know about God? He is still working [04:50] with you. I would not do, it if I didn't endorse what we were [04:53] doing here. If I thought for one minute, that [04:57] this was not the way that he wanted us to go. I would not be [05:00] here. I'm always worried about being a negative reflection [05:02] on christianity, because it's not what we wanna do, but at [05:06] the same point, I would be negatively not following God's [05:09] commandments. If I didn't take this stance and work it. And [05:13] of course you know, weed was grown in the Garden of [05:16] Eden, so you know, there's [05:20] nothing but God around here. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/"},"headline":"Why the Feds Have Not Ended the Oregon Militia Standoff","datePublished":"2016-01-05T02:01:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:38.573Z","description":"The law has time on its side","url":"https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/","keywords":["justice","Crime","States"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af2a6a6ebdc9558/698877822dce01fd329e72d7/ammon-bundy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Altman","jobTitle":"Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/alex-altman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af2a6a6ebdc9558/698877822dce01fd329e72d7/ammon-bundy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ammon Bundy","caption":"Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore.","creditText":"Rick Bowmer—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/justice/","name":"justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/","name":"Why the Feds Have Not Ended the Oregon Militia Standoff"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Raw: Oregon Rancher Protestor Speaks Out At Wildlife Refuge","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0JXHybNY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-03T14:57:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0JXHybNY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/","duration":"PT1M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4167006/oregon-militia-standoff-ranchers-fbi/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside A Christian Pot Shop","description":"Bryan and Lanette Davies run a Christian medical marijuana dispensary in Sacramento. 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