Who are the Malheur occupiers? Analysis by Spencer Sunshine

The media spotlight has turned to the small rural town of Burns in Eastern Oregon, where a small group of white, armed anti-government "militiamen" occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Saturday. Led by sons of Cliven Bundy, who faced down Bureau of Land Management officers at gunpoint last year, the group of 15 to 25 men claims to be supporting two local ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, recently re-sentenced to five years in prison for arson under domestic anti-terrorism legislation. However, it is unclear how much support they actually have in the local community, and their goals seem to be much broader than just supporting the Hammonds, including the dismantling of federal ownership of lands in the West.

Spencer Sunshine, Associate Fellow with Political Research Associates(http://www.politicalresearch.org/author/s-sunshine/#sthash.zhwjlmMU.dpbs), has studied the far right for many years. His recent article for US Uncut,http://usuncut.com/news/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-oregon-militia-takeover/, went viral. KBOO reporter Paul Roland spoke with him earlier today.