Bundys reportedly said no thanks to second militia group who offered protection

By Rachel Crosby Las Vegas Review-Journal

9 years ago

A member of the Pacific Patriots Network, which is attempting to resolve the occupation, looks on while helping to set up a temporary security perimeter as a meeting takes place at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Ryan Bundy leaves a meeting with the Pacific Patriots Network, who are attempting to resolve the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Ammon Bundy is seen in an office at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

A militia group that reportedly met with the armed protesters occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon on Friday later left the area Saturday after media outlets said the protesters, including Ammon and Ryan Bundy, told the group it wasn’t needed.

Reports say the militia group, which refers to itself as the Pacific Patriot Network and is comprised of people from the Pacific Northwest region, was told to leave the range hours after it established an armed buffer zone between law enforcement and the occupying protesters.

But on the phone Saturday night, Ryan Bundy clarified. He told the Review-Journal the network wasn’t necessarily asked to leave, but he declined to elaborate because he didn’t want to “talk strategy.”

“They came, and we’ve been anticipating their arrival,” he said. “Truth be known they’ve been in the area for a while.”

The reason the network was reportedly asked to leave was the image their presence implied, but Bundy would not address that Saturday.

Instead, he took the opportunity to slam media for portraying the occupation as a “gun battle program.”

“That’s not the story,” he said. “The story is about our Constitution. The story is about our freedom.”

In for long haul?

On Saturday afternoon, Carol Bundy, wife of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, sent an email with the subject line: “How you Can Help the Patriots in Oregon.”

“We have had many people ask where they can donate and/or send food and supplies for the Patriots in Oregon,” it reads, while noting it is an update to a previous “Call to Action.”

While nothing in the email, which was sent to a Review-Journal reporter, specifically says so, the long list of needed supplies may suggest the group may intend to stay awhile.

Suggested items include warm jackets and wool socks, portable heaters, propane tanks, hay, 120 grit sandpaper, toiletries for both men and women, sleeping bags, hamburgers and hot dogs, any canned foods, Marlboro Red 100’s cigarettes, gaming supplies, Copenhagen chewing tobacco and eggs, the latter of which were “needed badly.”

“We’ve been receiving donations from, well, everyone across the country,” Ryan Bundy said, when asked about the email.

He added he and his brother were “doing fine” but didn’t hint at how long they and other protesters planned to stay.

“It’s been a lot of work,” he said. “I’m away from my family. I’m not making a living right now. But I’m doing what it takes to provide for our freedoms.”

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Find her on Twitter @rachelacrosby