The Intelligence Review | vol. 1 | iss. 1 |

occupation group were arrested on that day (Anon. 2016c). Eventually, a message issued through
Ammon Bundy’s attorney urged other occupiers to stand down. Some members, including
Ammon Bundy’s father, Cliven Bundy, told the supporters otherwise. Some of them, such as
David Fry, insisted that they were willing to die for their cause, saying, “I’ll pass on and move
on to the next life. I don’t know [how it will end], but I’m willing to go that far” (Anon. 2016c).
Eventually, however, the occupation and standoff ended without further casualties. The occupation
lasted for 41 days. Everyone involved was arrested. The Bundy brothers are currently sitting
in jail, facing conspiracy and weapons charges. Ammon and Ryan Bundy also face charges for
participating in the 2014 standoff at the ranch of their father, Cliven Bundy. The latter was
arrested for the 2014 standoff while on his way to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to
participate in the occupation. Recently, the Bundy brothers unsuccessfully asked the court to
“dismiss the indictments, arguing that the federal government lacks jurisdiction over the land
that includes the wildlife sanctuary in eastern Oregon’s Harney County” (Bernstein 2016).
Implications
Following the arrest of the occupation’s leaders and the death of Finicum, outrage poured out
among the supporters of the movement. In the minds of some supporters, the occupation and
Finicum’s murder, which they saw as unjustified, strengthened the status and credibility of the
Sovereign Citizens movement by proving that that they were indeed at war with the federal
government (Hatewatch 2016). In the eyes of the movement’s supporters, Finicum has
become a martyr for their cause (ibid.). However, these feelings are far from universal within
the anti-federal government movement. For instance, the Oath Keepers have denounced the
Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and opposed the occupation of the Malheur Refuge
because, according to one of their communiqués, “it harms the Movement. [The Bundy
Group] has become the aggressors and, by doing so, loses the moral high ground” (Anon.
2016a). The Bundy group has also been criticized by rightwing activists for hindering the antifederal
government movement by resorting to extremely radical actions. Similarly, even
though a number of mainstream Republican Party supporters share some beliefs with the
broader anti-government movement, such as limiting federal government regulations, the
2016 presidential candidates did not support the movement’s methods. Characteristically,
Texas Senator and 2016 Presidential candidate Ted Cruz said he hoped for a peaceful
resolution to the standoff (Natour and Barajas 2016). The leading candidate in the race for the
candidacy, Donald Trump, said: “you have to maintain law and order, no matter what” and
“you cannot let people take over federal property” (Krueger 2016).
Conclusion
If the goal of the Oregon occupation and subsequent standoff was to unite the anti-federal
government right, and to increase the appeal of Sovereign Citizens among Republican Party
voters, then it clearly failed. Even though the standoff itself was marked by the participation
of numerous far-right militants from across the country, much of the broader movement
viewed it as ultimately damaging. Therefore, it can be stated with high confidence that the
Oregon standoff will not in itself galvanize the ranks of the Sovereign Citizens and its satellite
groups. However, the Sovereign Citizens movement has been around for decades and is today
far from dissipating. Recent events, such as the killing of five police officers in Dallas, Texas,
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