gotsnowgotslush
skates like Eck
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The Hammonds' run-ins with the government began in 1999, when Steven Hammond started a fire that escaped onto U.S. Bureau of Land Management territory. The intent of the fire was to burn off juniper and sagebrush that hindered the growth of grass for their cattle.
BLM employees reminded Steven Hammond that although his family leased public land for grazing, he couldn't burn it without a permit. But in September 2001, the Hammonds started another fire.
Then in August 2006, lightning sparked several fires near the spot where the Hammonds grew their winter feed. Steven Hammond set a back-burn to thwart the advancing flames, and it burned across about an acre of public land, according to federal court records.
The convictions were punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which followed the Oklahoma City bombing and other deadly acts of domestic terrorism. But on Oct. 30, 2012, U.S. District Judge Michael R. Hogan, presiding in his last sentencing before leaving the bench, said the Hammonds' conduct wasn't in keeping with the intentions of the law.
Hogan sentenced Dwight Hammond, now 73, to three months in prison. He sentenced Steven Hammond, now 46, to one year and one day in prison, a sentence that with time off for good behavior would mean about 10 months. The men completed their sentences and were required to repay about $400,000 in damages to the government.
Government lawyers appealed the sentence, saying it wasn't stiff enough.
The appeals court ruled that the Hammonds must be returned to the district court for resentencing.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...sf/2015/10/controversial_oregon_ranchers.html
Version 1
Father and son ranchers, due to report to federal prison on Monday, were convicted in 2012 of arson for lighting public land on fire adjacent to their ranch south of Burns. They have been imprisoned once and must return to finish mandatory five-year terms. Self-styled patriots and militiamen gathering in Burns don't want that to happen, declaring the imprisonment illegal under the U.S. Constitution.
Version 2
The Hammonds are father and son ranchers, due to report to federal prison on Monday. They were convicted in 2012 of arson for lighting public land on fire adjacent to their ranch land south of Burns. They have been imprisoned once and must return for an additional term after federal appellate judges said they had been illegally sentenced the first time.
The Hammonds don't want to be part of the outsiders' (militia's) cause,
The sheriff said three militiamen and one woman, one with a gun strapped to his hip, engaged his 74-year-old mother and 78-year-old father at a yard sale being held at the American Legion. When the men criticized the sheriff, his mother bristled, and said she didn't need their protection from the government.
Later, the men showed up at the sheriff's office to complain about the exchange involving his mother.
She had, they said, threatened them.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...men_ranchers_in_showdow.html#incart_big-photo
Who are the outsiders ?
Militia volunteers
Militiamen by the hundreds flowed to Nevada that year to help rancher Cliven Bundy. The BLM was corralling his cattle that it said were trespassing on public land. The agency said Bundy hadn't paid grazing fees for 20 years, amassing more than $1 million in bills.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups across the country, said in a 2014 report on the Bundy standoff that the government's retreat empowered the militiamen.
The Hammonds declined interview requests and didn't respond to written questions about their dealings with the militiamen. A Boise lawyer representing the Hammonds said in a letter to the sheriff that Bundy didn't speak for the ranchers and that they intended to surrender as required.
Side note
The Washington Post reported on April 10 that a sign at the entrance to the protest camp read “MILITA SIGHN IN.”
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwo...ia-god-gave-land-settlers-not-shoshone-154472
BLM employees reminded Steven Hammond that although his family leased public land for grazing, he couldn't burn it without a permit. But in September 2001, the Hammonds started another fire.
Then in August 2006, lightning sparked several fires near the spot where the Hammonds grew their winter feed. Steven Hammond set a back-burn to thwart the advancing flames, and it burned across about an acre of public land, according to federal court records.
The convictions were punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which followed the Oklahoma City bombing and other deadly acts of domestic terrorism. But on Oct. 30, 2012, U.S. District Judge Michael R. Hogan, presiding in his last sentencing before leaving the bench, said the Hammonds' conduct wasn't in keeping with the intentions of the law.
Hogan sentenced Dwight Hammond, now 73, to three months in prison. He sentenced Steven Hammond, now 46, to one year and one day in prison, a sentence that with time off for good behavior would mean about 10 months. The men completed their sentences and were required to repay about $400,000 in damages to the government.
Government lawyers appealed the sentence, saying it wasn't stiff enough.
The appeals court ruled that the Hammonds must be returned to the district court for resentencing.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...sf/2015/10/controversial_oregon_ranchers.html
Version 1
Father and son ranchers, due to report to federal prison on Monday, were convicted in 2012 of arson for lighting public land on fire adjacent to their ranch south of Burns. They have been imprisoned once and must return to finish mandatory five-year terms. Self-styled patriots and militiamen gathering in Burns don't want that to happen, declaring the imprisonment illegal under the U.S. Constitution.
Version 2
The Hammonds are father and son ranchers, due to report to federal prison on Monday. They were convicted in 2012 of arson for lighting public land on fire adjacent to their ranch land south of Burns. They have been imprisoned once and must return for an additional term after federal appellate judges said they had been illegally sentenced the first time.
The Hammonds don't want to be part of the outsiders' (militia's) cause,
The sheriff said three militiamen and one woman, one with a gun strapped to his hip, engaged his 74-year-old mother and 78-year-old father at a yard sale being held at the American Legion. When the men criticized the sheriff, his mother bristled, and said she didn't need their protection from the government.
Later, the men showed up at the sheriff's office to complain about the exchange involving his mother.
She had, they said, threatened them.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...men_ranchers_in_showdow.html#incart_big-photo
Who are the outsiders ?
Militia volunteers
Militiamen by the hundreds flowed to Nevada that year to help rancher Cliven Bundy. The BLM was corralling his cattle that it said were trespassing on public land. The agency said Bundy hadn't paid grazing fees for 20 years, amassing more than $1 million in bills.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups across the country, said in a 2014 report on the Bundy standoff that the government's retreat empowered the militiamen.
The Hammonds declined interview requests and didn't respond to written questions about their dealings with the militiamen. A Boise lawyer representing the Hammonds said in a letter to the sheriff that Bundy didn't speak for the ranchers and that they intended to surrender as required.
Side note
The Washington Post reported on April 10 that a sign at the entrance to the protest camp read “MILITA SIGHN IN.”
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwo...ia-god-gave-land-settlers-not-shoshone-154472
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