Citizens for Constitutional Freedom

Known members

Indicted

• Dylan Wade Anderson, 34, of Provo, Utah, identified himself as "Captain Moroni" in reference to a figure in the Book of Mormon who rescues his people by raising a flag called a "title of liberty" against an evil force. He was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on January 27 at a checkpoint outside the refuge.
• Sandra Lynn Anderson, 48, of Riggins, Idaho, surrendered to the FBI on February 11 and was arrested. She was a former barber and cosmetologist who recently moved from Wisconsin to Idaho.
• Sean Larry Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho, surrendered to the FBI on February 11 and was arrested. Prior to the occupation, he owned an outdoor supplies store in Riggins. Anderson had an outstanding bench warrant related to an August 2014 arrest and had been charged with resisting an officer, possession of THC, and drug paraphernalia, all misdemeanors. He was previously convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in 1998, 2008, and 2009, and of criminal trespassing in 2002, all in Wisconsin. He was one of the last four remaining holdouts and unsuccessfully tried to bargain to get the warrant dropped prior to his arrest. He and Jake Ryan were responsible for digging a large trench on an archaeological site at the refuge, which was considered sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe.
• Jeff Wayne Banta, 46, of Yerington, Nevada, surrendered to the FBI on February 11 and was arrested. He was a carpenter who reportedly went to the refuge to assist in the occupation after seeing an online video about the Bureau of Land Management.
• Jason Charles Blomgren, also known as "Joker J," 41, of Murphy, North Carolina, was arrested on February 11 in Bunkerville, Nevada, after being named in an indictment.
• Ammon Edward Bundy, 40, of Emmett, Idaho, is a car fleet manager and was the leader of the occupation until his arrest on January 26 during a traffic stop on U.S. Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon. On April 10, 2014, he was videotaped being tasered by federal agents when protesters surrounded a civilian driving a BLM-owned truck. According to Bundy, he began leading the occupation after receiving a divine message ordering him to do so.
• Ryan C. Bundy, 43, of Mesquite, Nevada, is the brother of Ammon Bundy. As he was being arrested in January 2015 in Cedar City, Utah, on a warrant for interfering with an animal control officer, Bundy allegedly resisted arrest and was given additional charges. In 2014, Ryan organized and conducted an illegal ATV ride to protest ATV restrictions on federal property which were meant to protect the archaeological sites there. In March 2015, Ryan harassed and threatened BLM employees during a city hall presentation regarding a BLM Land Management Plan related to Gold Butte, Nevada. Ryan was lightly wounded while being arrested on January 26 during a traffic stop on U.S. Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon. Ryan is believed to have planned and organized actions taken during the occupation, and recruited other supporters. Awaiting trial on charges stemming from the occupation, Ryan, who is representing himself, filed a motion with the court claiming he was incompetent. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, Bundy wrote to the court: "I, ryan c, man, am an idiot of the ‘Legal Society’; and; am an idiot of the ‘Bar Association’; and; i am incompetent; and; am not required by any law to be competent. " His motion was denied.
• Brian D. Cavalier, also known as "Booda" or "Booda Bear," 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada, was involved in the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada and had described himself as a "personal bodyguard" to Cliven Bundy during that time. After leaving the refuge on January 5, Cavalier was arrested in Maricopa County, Arizona, on an outstanding warrant and later released. According to prosecutors, his access to firearms is restricted due to his criminal record, but he has nonetheless consistently possessed weapons. Cavalier was convicted in Arizona of misdemeanor theft in 2014, and misdemeanor extreme DUI in 2005. Cavalier has claimed to have served in the U.S. Marine Corps, but the Corps has stated it has no record of Cavalier. He was arrested on January 26 during a traffic stop on U.S. Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon.
• Blaine Cooper, also known as Stanley Blaine Hicks, 36, of Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona, was arrested in Utah on February 11 for his role in the occupation, after traveling there in an "armed convoy" to attend a memorial for fellow militant LaVoy Finicum. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps through the Delayed Entry Program, but according to service records, he never reported for Marine recruit training. He had been convicted in Arizona of felony aggravated assault in 2009. In 2013, during a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Senator John McCain, Cooper called for McCain to be arrested for treason.
• Shawna Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah, was arrested on January 26 during a traffic stop on U.S. Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon. A friend of the Bundy family, she, along with her husband, owned and operated small, local businesses and rental properties.
• Travis Levi Cox, 21, of Redmond, Oregon, the youngest of the militants, was on the run from federal authorities after being named in an indictment. He was arrested in Utah on April 12 and held in a county jail in Cedar City, Utah.
• Duane Leo Ehmer, 45, of Irrigon, Oregon, was arrested by the FBI at a checkpoint outside the refuge on January 27. He was frequently photographed with his horse at the refuge. He is a convicted felon banned from possessing firearms, but he, too, was carrying a pistol when he was arrested in January, according to the records. Prosecutors said he also recently posted a photo on Facebook with the threatening caption: "The only way to win a war is to kill enough of the enemy that they do not want to fight anymore."
• Eric Lee Flores, 22, of Tulalip Bay, Washington, was arrested in his hometown on February 11 after being named in an indictment. A member of the Tulalip Tribes, he had been living on the reservation with his fiancée and their six-month-old daughter before the occupation, and also had plans of joining the U.S. Army. During the occupation, Flores traveled back and forth between Burns, Oregon, and Tulalip Bay, Washington, and intermittently served as part of the group's "security detail."
• David Lee Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio, was the last militant to be arrested at the refuge, surrendering to the FBI on February 11. Prior to the occupation, he maintained a social media account and made posts mentioning ISIS and Adolf Hitler, and calling for U.S. President Barack Obama to be found guilty of treason and executed. He had a criminal record that included convictions for possession of drugs and related paraphernalia.
• Wesley Kjar, 32, of Manti, Utah, was arrested on February 11 after being named in an indictment. At the time of his arrest, he had been hauling a trailer containing firearms and magazines. During the occupation, Kjar was quoted in news reports as saying he "wouldn't hesitate to stand between a bullet and Ammon Bundy."
• Corey Lequieu, 44, of Fallon, Nevada, left the refuge immediately after Finicum's death on January 26, though he was arrested on February 11 after being named in an indictment. He served six years in the U.S. Army and had been working for a Fallon trash-haul company prior to the occupation. According to prosecutors, Lequieu made violent threats against the BLM and the FBI, and had been openly declaring his intentions to kill police officers in Harney County, Oregon.
• Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent, Oregon, was apprehended by the Oregon State Police in Burns on January 15, while driving a government vehicle stolen from the refuge facility; a second vehicle stolen from the wildlife refuge was also recovered at the scene. Both vehicles bore altered markings of "Harney County Resource Center" on the doors, the unofficial name the militants have used for the refuge since shortly after the takeover. Medenbach previously had a history of troubles with the law, including a prior conviction for illegal occupation of government land that included setting up a makeshift shelter with booby traps and a stockpile of explosives, and was on bail awaiting trial for a similar charge from 2015. Medenbach reportedly used many legal quirks and filed legal documents in a way consistent with the anti-government sovereign citizen movement. Medenbach had previously told news reporters that "the Lord's telling me to possess the land, and I can legally do it, because the U.S. Constitution says the government does not own the land."
• Joseph Donald O'Shaughnessy, 43, of Cottonwood, Arizona, was arrested by the FBI on January 26 in Burns. He has previously been arrested for disorderly conduct, domestic violence and drug offenses, according to court records. O'Shaughnessy has argued that he was not a member of the group, being a member of an unrelated militia, but was trying to keep the peace at the refuge.
• Jason Patrick, 43, of Bonaire, Georgia, a roofing contractor, was arrested by the FBI on January 27 at a checkpoint outside the refuge. Patrick, one of the last holdouts at the refuge, faced charges in August 2014 of "making terrorist threats" after he "threatened to kill everyone" inside a Georgia municipal court building, according to prosecutors. Patrick posted bond in that case and was released, but agreed not to possess weapons—a condition that he has since violated. He was photographed with guns during the occupation, prosecutors noted. Initially offering guided tours for journalists during the start of the occupation, Patrick seemed to become the group's new leader following Ammon Bundy's arrest on January 26.
• Ryan Waylen Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Montana, is an electrician and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq. He is a founding member of the West Mountain Rangers, a militia group from Montana. During the Bundy standoff in 2014, Payne claimed to have organized a team of militia sharpshooters. During the occupation, Payne commented that they would "be here for as long as it takes." However, he further remarked that his group was not violent, but it was possible that the standoff could turn violent. Payne was arrested and taken into custody on January 26 during a traffic stop on U.S. Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon. He helped coordinate community meetings outside the refuge during the occupation.
• Jon Eric Ritzheimer, 32, of Peoria, Arizona, is an anti-government and anti-Islam militant affiliated with the 3 Percenters and formerly associated with the controversial Oath Keepers group. He voluntarily surrendered to the FBI on January 26 in his hometown of Peoria, Arizona.
• Jake Edward Ryan, 27, of Plains, Montana, was named in an indictment on February 11. He was arrested on April 6 after spending two weeks on the run from authorities. Ryan was found hiding in a shed armed with a loaded.45-caliber handgun and several knives. He and Sean Anderson were responsible for digging a large trench on an archaeological site at the refuge, which was considered sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe.
• Peter Santilli, 50, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a conservative media host who live-streamed the occupation until his arrest by the FBI on January 26 in Burns. He was the first person to report Finicum's shooting and the arrests on U.S. Route 395. Santilli previously bragged on YouTube about refusing to turn in his guns in violation of a restraining order filed against him. Santilli, who is a vocal supporter of the Bundys, argued that he was a journalist covering the protests. He has also been charged with 16 federal felonies, each attracting sentences of between 5 and 20 years and fines of up to per count, relating to the earlier standoff in Nevada. His arrest prompted an outcry from civil liberties advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, who stood by his assertion that he was simply covering the occupation.
• Geoffrey Alan Stanek, 26, of Lafayette, Oregon, was arrested in Forest Grove, Oregon, on February 11 after being named in an indictment the previous day. He served in the U.S. Army for three years before being honorably discharged.
• Darryl William Thorn, 31, of Marysville, Washington, was arrested in Bend, Oregon, on February 11 after being named in an indictment. A worker in Bremerton, Washington, he was a friend of fellow militant Eric Lee Flores, who he met in their shared association with the 3 Percenters.
• Neil Sigurd Wampler, 68, of Los Osos, California, is a camp cook and a retired woodworker. He was convicted in 1977 of second-degree murder for killing his father and as a result is prohibited from possessing firearms, which Wampler has frequently protested. He was arrested on February 11 after being named in an indictment.
• Scott Alan Willingham, 49, an unemployed musician who had been part of a "security detail" during the occupation, was arrested on March 17 by a Grant County, Oregon, sheriff's deputy in Mount Vernon, Oregon, and charged with weapons offenses after threatening to shoot federal law enforcement officers unless he was arrested for his role in the occupation. On March 23, he was transferred into federal custody after being indicted on two federal charges of stealing government property in relation to his stealing of a camera and related equipment worth more than from a utility pole at a transformer station.