Protester arrested in Burns, driving stolen refuge vehicle

[opiate69]

BURNS – Oregon State Police on Friday arrested one of the protesters holding the wildlife refuge, charging him with having a stolen vehicle after he drove into town, authorities said.

The man was identified as Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent. He was accused of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Law enforcement officials said Medenbach is currently on federal probation stemming from another militia-style episode in southern Oregon last year.

He is the first person arrested in connection with the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, taken over two weeks ago.

He was arrested in the Safeway parking lot in one vehicle bearing federal government license plates. A second federal vehicle was parked next to him, but the man police suspect of driving that into town already had gone into the grocery before police arrived.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/protester_arrested_in_burns_dr.html#incart_river_index

One Yeehawdist down, hopefully more to come.

[cwydro]

1. Good. I hope this means they're watching them.

Even if they take them one by one, that'll work.

[bluedigger]

2. These guys have some big cojones, i'll give them that.

Driving government vehicles into town for snacks.

[opiate69]

4. Big cojones, or pea-brains?

Or an astounding combination?

[sarge43]

28. Yeah, it isn't necessarily an either/or, especially with this collection of wannabees n/t

[Wounded Bear]

39. Methinks that big cojones and pea brains go together...

[sarge43]

44. The frequency of the correlation is statistically significant n/t

[waddirum]

50. big cajones

but tiny cascabel.

[emulatorloo]

3. Good. Here's another one that's now in custody: Brian "Booda Bear" Cavalier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027533224

[Vinca]

5. One down, but the feds need to add some charges to the mix.

[rhett o rick]

9. They are white men with guns. No charges will be filed. nm

[Bluenorthwest]

48. This guy is already facing unrelated Federal charges and his activities at

the Refuge are a violation of his release conditions, so he'll be facing more than just the auto charges. He's got a record a mile long.

[cali]

6. Yay.

[Monk06]

7. Hey that vehickle belongs to "We, the people" and I am one of those we.

I hope they start picking them off one at a time shopping for snacks. Bunch of couch potato losers

[world wide wally]

8. Now throw the book at him for all the other shit they are doing

[progressoid]

10. well, I guess that's a start.

[403Forbidden]

11. Good! But are grocery stores now "sanctuaries" off limits to LEO?

" A second federal vehicle was parked next to him, but the man police suspect of driving that into town already had gone into the grocery before police arrived."

What's up with that?

[thereismore]

13. I guess there was no reasonable cause to assume that the white patriot

that just walked into store is the same one that drove the vehicle.

[Mister Ed]

20. I'm thinking maybe just an abundance of caution on the part of the officers.

Those deluded, self-aggrandizing dimbulbs out at the refuge have been promising to go down in a blaze of glory and a hail of bullets rather than let the law take 'em in.

They're probably too chicken to carry out their threats, but still, it may have been wise on the part of the law officers to exercise caution, and make sure some poor toddler didn't get shot out of his grocery-cart seat in the crossfire when they confronted the Rambo wannabee in the store.

[MrChuck]

27. That is cogent thought

There has been a lot of talk in some circles about blasting these buffoons and, personally, I'm glad they're not doing that.

I can only hope that we see an increase in savvy and restraint when it comes to suspects with darker skin tone. The juxtaposition in methodology is truly staggering.

Here's to the peace. May it increase.

[Blanks]

32. They're becoming more of a joke...

With each passing day. The right thing to do is to let it run its course.

Arrest them when they give up and go home.

[missingthebigdog]

38. Or when they go shopping for snacks.

That works, too.

[2pooped2pop]

49. like they did at the Bundy ranch?

Well, they did the leave them alone part.

[Blanks]

58. The popularity of their movement...

Seems diminished. I'm not seeing an increase in support for these guys.

I guarantee the popularity of the government would decrease if they charged them.

I think they're doing the right thing by mostly ignoring them.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. I don't get why they couldn't arrest the one who went into the store...

Did he just come out after shopping and drive back without anyone stopping him?

They couldn't impound both vehicles and grab the guy as he was hitching a ride back?

[daleanime]

14. I know, seems kind of weird....

[LiberalArkie]

18. They probably did not see who was driving it. They want every arrest to be absolutely correct and

by the law. They are doing it correctly. Probably everyone one of them will make a mistake a some point.

[opiate69]

22. The article has been updated since I posted it.

The van was towed out, and the pick-up was driven to impound by a sheriff. Goober #2 is probably resigning himself to a long, cold walk back to the refuge (although the article now says several yeehawdists have gotten into cars to head into town... could get interesting).

[malaise]

24. Why wasn't he arrested? n/t

[opiate69]

25. Cops probably couldn't get a solid ID on him.

Sounds like he was inside the store before they got there.

[randys1]

26. Because he is white, if Black probably be dead now

[malaise]

30. I can't imagine too many people in camo at the supermarket

A Native American or an African American would be in a body bag by now

[opiate69]

33. This is him at the refuge....

Note the glaring lack of cammo.

[malaise]

34. ROFL

[opiate69]

35. In any case...

He looks pretty much exactly like any other middle-aged guy who would otherwise be shopping at Safeway in pretty much any location in the Pacific Northwest (My home for the last 25+ years)... no way in hell Goober #2 is going to stick out in a crowd in that neck of the woods.

[malaise]

36. OK

I get it

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Back at the ranch:

"What happened to Medenbach? He don't write, he don't call."

[Eugene]

16. This Medenbach fellow goes way back.

United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Kenneth William Medenbach, Defendant-appellant, 116 F.3d 487 (9th Cir. 1997)

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/116/487/611496/

If history is any guide, this guy wants to get arrested and
has repeatedly claimed federal property as his own.
He has used booby traps and explosives.

[Marty McGraw]

47. And even way further back than that

A lot has changed in the real world since Medenbach was left for rot in Cidhna Mine. He and his whacka-doodle forsworn antics of old aren't as tolerated in this age no more. Once a yahoo.....

[RiffRandell]

17. I hope that gives hime some time in the yard.

The longer the better.

Thanks for posting!

[cui bono]

19. Using a federal gubmint vehikull???

.

[phantom power]

21. Good news!

[ffr]

23. I'd be okay if they threw the book at all of them.

Arrest and throw away the key. Terrorists must be dealt with harshly.

[FuzzyRabbit]

41. They aren't terrorists!

They are white.

[ffr]

57. I don't understand your reply

[FuzzyRabbit]

60. It's about white privilege.

Even though they brandish firearms and have tried to intimidate local authorities, they are referred to by the news media as "protesters" and "militants". The government has done nothing, just as they did nothing to the Bundy "protesters" in Nevada, who actively aimed loaded firearms at federal authorities.

[SCantiGOP]

29. Why didn't they shoot him?

Oh, forgot, he's a patriot.

[libodem]

31. What no parade

Headed up by the ex Fire Marshall?

I never ceased to be amazed at the brazen favoritism shown these seditious tearrorists.

[Ferd Berfel]

37. add Grand Theftd Auto to th eother charges.....

[sulphurdunn]

40. Why are these clowns allowed to drive

to a Safeway in anybody's vehicle? Is the end game is to let these fuckers get away with this?

[Still In Wisconsin]

43. "When is Ken gettun back with are snacks?"

...Ima gettun pow'ful hungry fo' Slim Jims and Doritos!

[jalan48]

45. Bust their dumb asses.

[2pooped2pop]

46. what? he let them take him alive?

How could that be?

[Gman]

51. Terrorists say

"No man, they ain't one of us."

[UTUSN]

52. k

[Binkie The Clown]

53. Pick them off one at a time whenever they wander from the herd.

That's the way to get them in jail without mass confrontation.

[tencats]

54. This is not Kenneth Medenbach’s first tangle with the law

He is currently out on bail, according to court documents, awaiting trial for a seven-month residential occupation of government land between May and November 2015.

Medenbach was tried and convicted of the same crime in 1996. According to a forest service officer who testified at that trial, Medenbach was living in “an eight-by-ten-foot tent with a metal flue and wood-burning stove, a nearby campfire, and various cooking and sleeping equipment”.

According to a court memorandum, the magistrate said that Medenbach posed a risk to public safety and said that he had referenced Ruby Ridge and Waco, two sieges that ended in violence. At a detention hearing, the government said that Medenbach had tried to protect his campsite with “50 to 100 pounds of the explosive ammonium sulfate, a pellet gun, and what appeared to be a hand grenade with trip wires.”

Convicted and given a six-month suspended sentence, Medenbach appealed the case to the federal ninth circuit court, where he argued that federal ownership of unappropriated public lands was unconstitutional. He also filed a civil suit to demand that federal judges no longer swear an oath of affirmation under the constitution, a position he defended in this blog post from January 2015.

He was extensively profiled in the 1999 book Terrorists Among Us: The Militia Threat, by retired Indiana police captain Robert L Snow. At the time, Snow wrote, Medenbach was building his own home on five acres of land in Crescent, Oregon, out of “discarded refrigerators, water heaters, and other such material.” Medenbach, according to Snow, subscribed to the legal theory that state bar associations are unconstitutional, and so courts have no authority over him.

“I’m willing to pay the price for my convictions,” Medenbach told Snow. “Someday, when the laws become too stringent, people will start waking up.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/15/oregon-militia-standoff-arrest-stolen-government-vehicle-burns-oregon-police-kenneth-medenbach

[pinboy3niner]

55. UPDATE: Protester ordered not to occupy federal property as condition of his release...

...from federal charges now pending in Medford. (From OP link, updated.)

[Vogon_Glory]

56. Good. One Clown Removed From The Circus

Good. One clown removed from the circus.

NOW can we cut off their electricity?

[Coventina]

59. Definition of "government taker"

But somehow, I doubt he gets the irony.....

[Enthusiast]

61. I hope they give him a speedy trial and the maximum sentence.

[annabanana]

62. from what I've read of the guy..

If he had access to a small plane, he would almost certainly try to fly it into a federal building at the first available opportunity.

Lock and key, close observation and a long long sentence are called for.