UPDATE | Cincinnati man latest arrest in Oregon refuge standoff
BURNS, Ore. (AP)
The FBI has announced another arrest in the confrontation with Ammon Bundy and his followers occupying a national wildlife refuge here, bringing the total number of those arrested to seven.
Fifty-year-old Peter Santilli of Cincinnati, Ohio, was arrested at 6:30 p.m. today in Burns.
Santilli has been operating an online talk-radio show during the occupation of the wildlife refuge.
The FBI says Bundy and the others arrested face felony charges of conspiracy to impede the duties of federal officials through the use of “force, intimidation, or threats.”
The FBI also said it continues to work with the Harney County sheriff, Oregon State Police and the U.S. Attorney’s office to address any other issues.
Authorities said shots were fired during the arrests of the group, which has occupied the refuge for more than three weeks.
In a statement today, the FBI said one individual “who was a subject of a federal probable cause arrest is deceased.” No other information about the deceased was immediately released.
The FBI said authorities arrested group leader Bundy, 40, his brother Ryan Bundy, 43, Brian Cavalier, 44, Shawna Cox, 59, and Ryan Payne, 32, during a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon on U.S. Highway 395. Authorities said another person, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, was arrested in Burns.
Bundy’s group, which has included people from as far away as Arizona and Michigan, seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 as part of a long-running dispute over public lands in the West.
Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights.
This news comes after more than 50-mile stretch of highway in Oregon has been closed near near the wildlife refuge.
The Oregon Department of Transportation reported on its website that U.S. 395 was closed between the towns of Burns and John Day on Tuesday evening. The Oregonian reports that there had been a meeting scheduled between some members of the group and local residents in John Day on Tuesday night.