The United States' Tense History with Armed Standoffs

The takeover of a federal facility in rural Oregon by well-armed, self-styled militia members poses a huge challenge to U.S. law enforcement and raises the spectre of past standoffs that have led to disastrous loss of lives.

Last week, dozens of protestors rallied in Burms, Oregon, in the state’s southeastern corner, over a land dispute with the federal government. A breakaway group, vowing to take direct action, then took over a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service building at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge to protest the sentencing of two local ranchers who had lit fires on federal lands adjacent to their properties. After initially being given sentences of a year and under, the U.S. Attorney appealed their convictions and their sentences were extended by a federal appeals court, sparking the protests.

The militants who have seized the federal facility—whether the group is a few dozen or 100-plus strong remains unclear—have vowed to settle in for a long siege. There’s no reason to think that they’re lacking the firepower or rations to last sometime.