By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief

Chances are you’ve probably heard about this armed “militia” that has taken over a federal building in Eastern Oregon.

Here’s the scoop: on Saturday, Jan. 2, an estimated 300 protesters paraded through the town of Burns in protest of the prison sentence that was handed down to two Harney County ranchers – Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond – when they were convicted of arson for burning federal land.

After the protest, a group of people – to which the mass media is conspicuously labeling a militia – occupied the wildlife refuge for further protest of the Hammonds’ sentence.

The self-proclaimed leader of the “militia” is Ammond Bundy; he is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who in recent years was part of an armed standoff with the feds over grazing rights when he refused to pay fees for allowing his cattle to graze on federal lands.

Ammond Bundy has said that the group does not wish to harm anyone, but they would not rule out violence if authorities tried to remove them from the site, according to The Oregonian. Bundy and the rest of the supporters claim they have enough supplies to last years, despite asking for the public’s help via social media on the second day of their so-called occupation.

The thing about this situation that I find the most amusing is the way the mass media places certain terminologies on people based on race and ethnicity.

Let’s face it: if these guys were Muslim-Americans, or basically anyone that isn’t Caucasian, they would be called “terrorists” rather than “militiamen.” These individuals should be labeled for what they really are: domestic terrorists.

Many have claimed that the 2nd Amendment gives them the right to form a militia and protest against a tyrannical government, but the truth is that the government hasn’t actually done anything wrong in this situation.

The Hammonds claimed the land that they burned belonged to them, when it is indeed owned by the Bureau of Land Management. They committed a felony and were sentenced accordingly.

These guys label themselves as patriots, when really all they are is a bunch of sympathizers of people that decided not to pay what are essentially federal taxes.

And while people inside the refuge have not specifically stated what sort of weapons they have (or don’t have), Ammond Bundy himself has posted a video on his Facebook page asking for support from others around the country – support in the form of weaponry.

I personally don’t think there is much to worry about in the form of violence, and that the occupiers will most likely just run out of supplies and be forced to come out and give an embarrassing explanation or excuse.

These people aren’t occupying a major government building; they’re in the visitor center of a wildlife center in the middle of nowhere. Everybody needs to just calm down and stop acting like this is some giant story that needs 24-hour coverage, because it doesn’t. Let them throw their little anti-government tantrum, and then arrest them when they’re done.