More than 100 men and women gathered Saturday in downtown Portland to pay homage to Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the Oregon wildlife refuge occupier who was shot and killed by state police Jan. 26 as they moved in to arrest him.
The protesters assembled under cloudy skies in front of the Multnomah County jail in downtown Portland. For more than two hours, the park across from the detention center was home to a moving forest of signs and flags as Finicum supporters cheered and shouted. A few dozen counter-protesters kept pace with their own blow-horns and chants.
It was one several rallies planned in at least 35 states for Finicum, whose death has become a rallying point for people who believe the federal government is infringing on people’s rights. Rallies were scheduled throughout the day at U.S. courthouses, public parks and capitol buildings, including in Salem, Bend and in Olympia, Washington.
Although on the whole the protest was peaceful, a shouting match began mere minutes after its 11 a.m. start.
“Keep your Bundy hands off our public lands,” counter-protesters chanted, referring either to the leader of the refuge occupation, Ammon Bundy, or his father, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.
A pro-occupier demonstrator carrying a sign that said “Release God’s People” shouted back: “No way, man, it is public land. We own it, we the people.”
A central theme of this and other occupation-related protests has been the alleged federal overreach that has infringed on ranchers’ rights. The occupiers had demanded that the land in eastern Oregon be handed over to local control, and that two ranchers imprisoned for burning federal land be released.
Finicum was one of dozens of militants who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon for almost a month. On Jan. 26, FBI agents and Oregon State Police troopers stopped him as he and other militants were driving to a community meeting in John Day. Finicum was shot after the FBI said he reached twice for a pocket where he had a loaded 9mm pistol.
This rally and the dozens of others around the country are intended to spread awareness of the arrests of 25 refuge occupiers as well as to gather signatures in support of an investigation into Finicum’s death, a spokeswoman for the Finicum family said.
A woman who said she was a second cousin to one of the arrested occupiers, Jon Ritzheimer, said she came to Portland from Eagle Point to support him because he “fought for our constitution and is standing up for his rights.”
Ritzheimer, along with two dozen others associated with the 41-day occupation, is charged with conspiracy to impede a federal officer through intimidation or force. The sentence carries a maximum sentence of six years, plus fines.
Soon after the Portland rally began, the protesters marched around the park. They then gathered in the middle and organizer Kelli Stewart told them to look toward the window of the Multnomah County jail that she said was the window to Ammon Bundy’s cell. In unison, the protesters saluted in that direction, then held a moment of silence, as a horn from the counter-protesters continued to blare.
A woman wearing a blue tarp, which has become a symbol for Finicum, sang the national anthem and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” Finicum became known as “tarp man” after doing a series of interviews with a blue tarp over his head.
Finicum supporters were urged to not engage with counter-protesters and stuck to their script. Police had braced for the possibility that some participants might openly carry weapons, but an Oregonian/OregonLive reporter did not see any demonstrators with firearms.
Around noon the protest moved to city hall, where someone had set up a small shrine for Finicum. It consisted of a large photograph of him, 11 candles, a tarp on a lawn chair and a straw hat.
Though the two protest camps stayed mostly separated, there was some tension near the end when counter-protesters came too close for some of the Finicum ralliers’ comfort.
A woman held a blow-horn as a man stood next to her holding a pole with a Snickers bar and handcuffs hanging from the end. The candy bar was a reference to occupiers’ plea for snacks at the beginning of the occupation.
People gathered around the two counter-protesters as the leader of a prominent anti-government group appeared to push the man with the pole from behind. Police intervened and things quickly calmed down, though the counter-protesters did not leave.
By that point the number of protesters had gone down to a few dozen, with people planning to go to Salem for a protest there.
Finicum’s death has become a flashpoint for people who see it as part of a pattern of behavior by an unjust government. Many have called his death a murder, saying Finicum was “ambushed” by law enforcement and that his death could have been avoided.
There was a warrant for Finicum’s arrest when he was stopped by police. Most of the leaders of the occupation were arrested the same day Finicum died.
Many of the occupiers left voluntarily soon after. The occupation ended Feb. 11 after the last four holdouts surrendered.
— Fedor Zarkhin
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/03/people_gather_at_federal_court.html