#Paiute / Tribe urges feds: Stop letting refuge occupiers come and go | ktvz.com

26.1.16

Tribe urges feds: Stop letting refuge occupiers come and go | ktvz.com News - Home: Over the last 23 days since the siege began, law enforcement officials have allowed the militants to freely move in and out of the Refuge headquarters and off the Refuge itself. Despite the illegal occupation, the militants have been allowed to come and go freely and restock and replenish supplies, hold news conferences, leave the state, and more.

In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey, Tribal Chair Charlotte Roderique called on the U.S. Government to secure the headquarters property and to prosecute occupiers if they violate laws protecting cultural resources.

“Law enforcement continues to allow the armed militants to come and go from the Refuge as they please,” wrote Chair Rodrique. “Allowing the militants free passage to and from the Refuge must stop.”

The Burns Paiute Tribe has expressed grave concern over the handling of cultural artifacts at the Refuge headquarters. Tribal council members met last week with U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams, and with representatives from the FBI and Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s office and the Oregon State Police, to express their concerns.

Tribal representatives requested that prosecutors seek federal and state criminal penalties for anyone who steals or harms tribal cultural resources.