>> narrator: tonight... >> i'm asking you to follow me. and we're going to make a hard stand. >> narrator: how one family's fight... >> the issue the bundy family started more than 20 years ago. >> an armed standoff in bunkerville... >> narrator: ...sparked a movement... w e did not anticipate these hundreds of militia people coming in, many of them heavily armed. >> i was convinced it was going to gsouth. it was that close. >> this became sort of this rnllying cry for anti-govent extremists evewhere. >> narrator: ...and challenged the federal government... il bundy took over the malheur nationalife... >> that's exactly why we had guns there. they would respect us. and if we didn't, they would've tased us and hauled us off in paddy wagons. >> our number one priority was to resolve the oupation

peacefully. they had armed guards at the rotes. they had armed p. they clearly intended to defend their position. >> narrator: tonight on frontlinthe inside story of anrmed uprising and a move that calls themselves "american patriots." >> frontline imade possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the cporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by thr john d. and cae t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. additional support is ed by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. the park foundation,gh dedicated to hning public awareness of critical issues. the john andelen glessner family trust. supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. the heising-simons foundation: unlocking knowledge,

opportunity, and possibilities. and by theli frontline jour fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. >> i'm the son of a rancher. that's what i am, and i don' want to be anything more than that. my family established a homestead in the virgin valley in southern nevada in 1877, and utey began to run cattle. i always dreamed aeing able to ranch. but the federal govement has turned its eyes, as modern conquerors, and focused on controlling the land and the resources.

we are at a dangerous time, andt i'm not alking about ranchers. i'm talking about all s of what this nation was built on. >> narrator: when we met ammon bundy, he was facing the possibility life in prison. he had been called a hero and a criminal, a patriot and a domestic terrorist. ammon claimed he never wanted to be anything more than a rancher, but in 2016, he lead the largest armed uprising against the federal government in a generation.

>> a modern-day range war is taking place right now in bunkerville. >> cliven bundy's fight against the feds has ignited a firestorm of debate. >> dozens of armed federal officers are preparing for a showdown with a nevada cattle rancher. >> rancher cliven bundy... >> cliven bundy says other cattle ranchers wereorced off the land, but he is refusing to leave. >> narrator: in the fall of 2013, ammon bundy's family lost a decades-long legal battle wito the federavernment. puey'd been refusing to remove their cattle from ic land near bunkerville, neva. and owed over a million dollars in fees and fines. for 20 years, the government had en trying to phase out ranching in bunkerville to deal with development anden envirol issues. some ranchers shut down, others took buyouts, but ammon's

father, cliven bundy, refused. >> my dad said no. and when they come and said they're going to take it anyway, he said, "hell no!yo re not going to take away what my grandfathers passed down to me." he said no. >> the issue with the bundy family started more than 20 years ago. >> narrator: steve ellis was aec deputy dtor of the bureau of land management, the blm, which grants permits to ranchers to graze their cattle on public land. >> the u. government is a huge landlord in the west. inherently there's going to be conflicts and challenges for us in making decisions. blm was making a change in mr. bundy's permit. mrbundy rejected that and stopped paying his grazing fees and that started the whole thing. >> the blm was threatening to

decrease his cattle operation to e point where there'd be nothing left. but ranchers can't just stop paying their grazing fees. even as a form of protest, it's difficult to make the case that if you stop paying, you can still continue operating.ti so the only the blm can take at that point is to impound bundy's cattle. >> narrator: the bundys declared a range war, and the blm finally sent in armed agents to oversee the removal of the cattle. >> rangers and agents from several federal agencies are preparing to move against rancher cliven bundy. >> the bureau of land management came iand began to build their compound, and it was built like a military base. m, you know, saying, "dad, i really want to be able to do something if you need me to do it." >> narrator: as the blm wa impounding hundreds of the bundys' cattle, ammon's brother david began fiing government convoys. (indistinct voice on radio)

>> hey, sir! w >> narraton agents ordered him to stop, he refused, as his intervene.her ryan tried to >> i am going to take him with me. >> okay, he's a own man. he can take himself, okay, sir? this is your first choice, sir, to leave, to leave? i'm going to drag u out of the car, okay, here in a second. sir, sir, leave now. >> several men came down, threw him to the ground, and then they detained him and took h to the compound. >> 1608 turning cameraff. bundy has left the area. >> it was that nht that my dad said, "well, i guess it's time for you to come." when i dropped down into the havalley, i couldn't belie i saw. i pulled into the protest site, and, uh, there's, like, 40 or 50 people there. a it was quizing to see the people unite. >> narrator: as he arrived in h bunkervillfound that ranchers froacross the state

had rallied to his father's defense. >> this bundy family, e than just a good ranch family. there's a good example of what mthey've tried to do to t right here, on this deal right here, only the people have finally had enough. >> for the last 20 years, they've been after the good guys.ea >> >> ranchers have been frustratef with theederal government for a very long time. they severely cut back the amount of time cattle can on public lands. ranchers are always having to lookver their shoulder and wonder, "when is my ranch no longer gonna be viable?" the bundys are among the last ranchers in clark county. >> (chanting): no blm! no blm! >> narrator: as the crowds grew, protesters confronted vernment agents. (protestors shouting)y >> tbody-slammed my aunt margaret to the ground.in (shog) and they tased me. that was all caught on video. and then that video went viral and that's when more people started coming.

>> i was very worried about the optics of it. i thought, "wow, this is not good. i mean, the optics of this is going to be horrible." >> this skirmish quickly turned into an angry mob, and otestors were hurt. >> then he tased me again. probably because i didn't drop on the ground. ys >> we alnew the potential that they would not cooperate, d but not anticipate those large numbers of people coming in. >> in the past, we saw simar activities of protest. but what's different about 2014 sd bunkerville is that a bunch of people show up port cliven bundy who are not ranchers at all. >> narrator: cliven was contacted by a militia group from montana, who asked to come to the ranch.is and on facebife, carol, called for militias from across the country to come and support them. that caught the atteof ryan lenz at the southern poverty law center. >> we track anti-government groups and extremist groups. we focus on both racial extremism and anti-government

extremism, both of which have been growing quite immensely in recent years. this image of ammon bundy tasered became sort of this f rallying cryor anti-government extremis everywhere. >> i don't have to explain myself, because this is america. and i want all... >> the first time i heard about bundy ranch was when the youtube video came out with the bundys getting tased andet the auntng tossed by the federal agent. (gunshots) >> narrator: brandon rapolla, a marine veteran, runs a small militia in oregon. >> to come in as a militarized force against your citizen like this, that's when we the people, we say, "no, this is not what the constitution stands for and we have to remind our federal government that we are the power. >> people are coming in from out of state n to hold off the federal rangers and many are armed. >> we bring you now the latest from the bundy ranch, where the militia has arrived in support of cliven bundy.

>> within less than a 24-hour period, i got my gear ready and made an 18-hour straight drive down there. and you had people from all over the country. and a lot of the people that i met were prior military, were still active military, and special forces, in dif branches. everybody had a purpose or a reason to come, but it was all t based on fact that they know somebody is being abused, and something's not right. >> narrator: militias from around the country descended on bunkerville. >> the oath keepers, which is this group oformer military and police personnel, the three percenters who believe that they are prepared to fight the federal government much like our, like the colonists were against the british. and so, bunkerville becomes this sort of petri dish of anti-government extremist thought. >> narrator: the bureau of land nagement watched with increasing alarm as the situation escalated. >> we're surrounded by peoples,

with ghese hundreds of militia people coming . many of them are heavily armed from around the countr >> narrator: on april 12, the blm said they would stop rounding up more cattle. but that wasn't enough for cliven. he wanted all his cows back. >> good morning, citizens of clark county, nevada! (crowd cheers) go morning, america! (crowd cheers)ba >> cliven cally says, "we're about to take this country back and let's go get my cattle." >> we're going to go and takee st of them out of the compound corrals up here above the freeway. (crowd cheers) >> and boom, they're off! >> let's get 'er done! >> narrator: the bunkele protest was becoming an uprising. >> we're taking back our county, that's basically what's going to happen, then we're going to take back our state. >> narrator: ammon and hundreds of protesters headed for the lot where the government had tlimpounded the family's c

>> narrator: we obtained video taken law enforcement that day. >> narrator: some of it has never been shown before. >> they were all hea to this wash, where the main entrance was to the pen where the blm held his cattle. >> narrator: as the protesters converged on the cattle pen, law enforcement officers from a half-doz agencies scrambled to hold them off. >> where you going to set up a triage area? >> behind the vehicles over here. >> okay. >> no, that's what i'm saying. >> once we were down there, they were in stacking position

with their rifles up. >> we're afraid, because they're telling us that ife don't disperse, they're going to eopen fire, and that's wh believed that they would do. >> narrator: but the militias were in position, too. >> anybody who went there was prepared for the federal government to take lethal action. >> i was thinking of how serious the situation had beco, how we had a very volatile situation right then.la >> northbounne has rifles. with scopes. >> which one? >> norbound-- the furthest bridge. >> the government had snipers and the militia put in place counter-snipers. it was a level of tension and borderline violence. i was convinced it was goingo go south, that it was that close.

>> these swat teams knew these guys are o there, there to defend, and they will whip your ass, we will die. >> bundy! bundy, come here! >> narrator: at the head of the , owd, ammon bundy conted blm agent dan lovedemanding he release the family's cattle. >> we're staying here until they're gone. that's what we're doing. >> blm, go home! >> what was going through my mind is, it is not worth it to have anybody hurt over 400 cows that they had impounded at that point. so i told them to pull out. and to pull out now. (crowd cheering) >> narrator: the bundys andei thmilitia supporters had led an armed standoff, in defiance

of court orders, and none was rested. they even got theicows back. >> the bureau of land t management wasing to root myh dad off his rar 30 years now. for it to unld the way it did was absolutely a miracle to us. d amazing. >> they can gloat all they want. but everyone went home safe. and i also knew that eventually the wheels of justice wouldtu staring, that that was not the end of it. >> narrator: the federal government had backed down. but it would spend the next two years trying to bring the bundys to justice. overnight, the bundys were thrust into the nationalot ght. >> welcome to hannity, and this is a fox news alert. the federal government may have surrendered in the battle veagainst nevada rancher c bundy. (cheering) >> narrator: the discussion was as divided as e country itself. >> the law breaking rancher named cliven bundy has literally

put the bureau of lande management in osshairs of sniper rifles. >> frankly, i thought was a lack of proportionality here by the government, and snipers and surrounding your ranch and taking your cattle, none of it made any sense. >> when the standoff at bunkerville happens, it is very much local battle and local relationship with the blm, but because of the coverage it draws from the media there are other people who will appropriate bundy and his cause and make it their own because it seems to support their larger message of out-of-control, tyrannical federal government. >> i'm worried about the lies that are told to uabout the irs, about what happened in benghazi, and the lies sold health care. i'm concerned that the government is overreaching here. >> i don't think in any way cliven bundy wanted the poster child for sean hannity or the far right. i don't think he was particularly interested in any given political movement.

>> narrator: the bundys wanted to use their new platform to talk about what mattered to them. their belief that puic land should be managed locally, not by the federal government. >> the fact is, the federal government have overstepped their bounds and taken... >> narrator: but within days, an interview with cliven making racist comments went viral. >> cliven bundy, it turns out, is a racist. >> narrator: the bacash was immediate. >> conservatives stampeded away from nevada rancher cliven bundy. >> i believe those comments are downright racist they are repugnant, they are bigoted, and it's beyond disturbing. >> narrator: from then on, ammon would be the voice of the bundy family. >> the people have t power. we want to unite. we have the power. (crowd cheering)

>> ammon is smarter at not sticking his foot in his mouth. cliven stays on the ranch, butwl ammon is slobuilding up a larger network of supporters through the internet and other places. h >> w heard the story of what happened? >> he is beginning to export the protest across the interior west. >> narrator: with word spreading on social media, ammon was in demand as a speaker. >> so i began to pray and i prayed longer than i'd ever prayed in my life.e >> narrator:d his family are devout mormons. and ammon spread his family message with the zeal of a missionary.nd he argued that the constitution, the federal government has no right to restrict ranchers usublic land, even if they don't own it. >> if we didn't have the constitution, we wouldn't have the federal government. >> narrator: he was becong a leader in the so called "patriot movement". >> if people want to call me a leader, that's fine, but'm

doing what every person should do, and it's that simp i >> narrator:his travels, ammon learned of a family in eastern oregon whose battleser with the fed government reminded him of his own. >> two-thirds of the way up on that mountain, where you see the snow, that's where our cattle are at... >> narrator: like the bundys, the hammonds were ranchers who repeatedly clash with federal officers over the use of public land. twenty years earlier, their fight with the government received national attention. >> hammond has become a virtual martyr to many in the land rights movement. >> narrator: in 2012, the hammonds were prosecuted for settings fires that destroyed federal land and endangered people's lives. they claimed the fires were to maintain their grazing land and had spread outf control, but they faced a mandatory minimum of five years. >> the hammonds are longtime

ranchers in eastern oron that had been charged with arson. their case went to trial in pendleton, oregon, and thated resun convictions. >> narrator: the jury found them guilty but the judge reduced their sentences. three months for dwight, one year for his son, steven. but, that didn't sisy the prosecutors. >> the law wasn't followed. so, that matter was appealed and they were sentenced to the five year mandatory mimium. >> two oregon ranchers must go back to prison for starting fires that burned on federal land. >> narrator: when ammon bundy heard the hammonds were going back to prison, he was outraged. >> we ar about the hammonds. this urge just filled my whole body. i felt a divine drive, an urge that said you have to get involved. >> narrator: so in the fall ofam

2015, n went to burns, oregon, a place, like the rest of harney county, that had o falln hard times. chris briels used to be the fire ief here. >> i moved here in 1978. burns was kind of cool; it was the place i wanted to be because it was away from the big city and all the extraneous crazy stut goes on in the rest of the world. wa and so ia safe and wonderful place to raise my kids. i thought. the economy was booming. there were a lot of people working in the mill. there were a lot of loggs, a lot of truckers hauling logs. ranchers were doing well. it was a nice place to be. but now it's just a graveyard of industry, and it's definitely not the same.

but i lo this area. >> my name is ammon bundy. i don't live in oregon... >> the first time that ammon came to harney county, i heard on facebook, because we don't a haadio station here. >> if we were abiding by the constitution, the hammonds would never be in the position they're in. b if we're abidithe constitution, these ranchers would be able to ranch without beg in fear. >> i've always been involved with the communi thought, i'm going to go out and i'm going to find out what kind of weirdos we got in our backyard now, you know? and then, ammon got up and started talking. >> (voice breaking): the lordpl was nosed with what was happening to the hammonds... and i apologize for being emotional, i hope you guys can get past that.te >> and i lisd and i was just kind of transfixed. it's like wow, this guy is

sincere. you know, he had found out about the hammonds and he hadnc some real ns. well, i'll be danged; this is a real cowboy. >> narrator: ammon took to social media, trying to ing attention to the hammonds' situation. >> what has happened to the hammonds will happen to more and more people. and it is that simple. and so i am asking you to come to harney county. we are to stand now and that we are to do these things now, or we will not have anything to pass on to our children. >> narrator: ammon's call to action was heard by many of the same milia members who had supported his fami at the bundy ranch. >> when i found out ammon bundy had contact with the hammonds, i contacted ammon and said, "hey, i would like to help." >> narrator: after the

bunkerville standoff, militias around the country had been energized, and brandon rapolla formed an alliance with other groups in the northwest. they called themselves the n pacific patretwork. >> okay, so, two mags of five. >> two mags of five for now... >> narrator: joseph rice leads ppn chapter in oregon's rogue valley. d >> ammon bundy hwn attention to the abuses by the three-letter agencies in the management of our natural resources. it started the discussion. it's why you guys are sitting here. (clicking) five rounds in place, transition to pistol, two rounds. (ammunition and guns clicking) >> i don't know any other way to describe what happened to the hammond family, other an... i don't understand what country es tove in when it c that. >> when ready... and commence. fire! (gunshots) >> there was a need for people

to be defended. (gunshots) >> cease fire, cease fire. >> narrator:wo days before the hammonds returned to jail, ammon bundy and the pacific patriots neork organized a rally in downtown burns. >> on january 2, the bundys and his followers had organized a rally in support o hammond family. >> where's idaho? (cheering) where's oregon? (cheering) >> several hundred people showea the rally... >> we're gonna continue down this road to the corner where the hammonds live. everybody ready to do this? (cheering) >> ...and they marched through the streets of burns. (crowd singing "amazing grace") >> narrator: the marchers

stopped in front of the hammonds' home. (crowd singing >> the most humbling experience that anybody could have. >> narrator: the march was supposed to end in teway parking lot. but ammon had decided to take things further. >> after we rallied there in burns, what were we supposed to do, just ghome? just say, "okay, look, you know, the hammond family will go to pron for five years"? you know, what are the people, just to go home? we h to stand for them. those who are ready to actually do something about it, i'm asking you to follow me and go to the malheur national wildlife refuge. and we're going to make a hard stand. follow me! il about 40 miles. >> it's about 40! >> narrator: ammon and a small group of armed followers raced

out to malheur, taking their fight to government owned land adjacent to the hammonds' land >> no one anticipated the malheur occupation. nobody really was expecting it. body knew how it would end. and, really, nobody knew how far the bundys would go. >> a really bizarre anti- government protest is playing out on a remote wildlife refuge. e armed anti-government protesters who'vken over a group of federal buildings. police are keeping their distance for now, hoping to ride this thing out. y >> many have asked us for what is our name. and that would be citizens for constitutional freedom. our purpose is to restore and defend the constitution. >> they had armed guards at the gates. they had armed patrols that roamed the perimeter of the facility. they'd moved heavy equipment to block the roads. yey clearly intended to s and to defend their position.

>> narrator: but mosmmon's militia allies had stayed behind in burns. for them, taking the refuge was a step too far >> oregon 3 percent is not going. the pacific patriots network is not going. t we respe patriots and the people that want to go out there and do that, but as far as oregon and idaho is concerned, that's not what we're here to do. >> us and ppn and oregon 3 percent and the other patriot groups and leadehip said, "no, that's not what we're here for." >> i had no idea, i had no intention, that something this drastic would come from this. >> the burns incident absoluly separated the patriot movement. what happened in malheur felt offensive. it felt like you're taking the fight to them, rather than defending somebody else. >> narrator: ammon was left with a core group of supporters. ma of them had been at the standoff in bunkerville. >> over the first indays of the occupation, we were able

to identify a core group of leadership who were active in recruiting people to come to the refuge and communicating with the press. >> narrator:ne of ammon's closest allies at malheur was an old family friend.>> thoy finicum. i'm a rancher in nn arizona. >> we were aware of who lavoy finicum was. like ammon bundy, he was part of that leadership group. >> narrator: and like ammon, he had a following on social media. >> hello, everyone. this is lavoy finicum, one cowboy's stand for freedom. blm, here i am. you want to pick on somebody, come pick on me. >> narrator: the occupiers aced themselves for a showdown, but the fbi raid never came. >> when dealing with a situation like this, tactical patience is as important as a good strategic plan. we had seen what had happened a year and a half or so before, and e tension and escalation

that occurred at that point. >> narrator: so the fbheld back and waited. the occupiers traveled regularly between the refuge and the town, and the authorities made no effort to arrest them. >> it wasn't easy. it goes counter to any law enforcement officer thatou'll ever meet to stand by and watch someone break the law, clearly break the law, and be ou touting the fact they're breaking the law, and not do anything abo it.y >> that's exacy we had guns there. if we had them, they would a respect us aow us to speak. these lands, they need to be returned back to the people. and if we didn't, then they would do what they've done to protesters all across this nation. they would have tased us, they would have sprayed us with mace, they would have put zip ties on us and hauled us off in paddy wagons. >> narrator: the standoff dragged on for days, and then

weeks, as the occupiers issued demands. some of them posted videos of the negotiations with the fbi. >> you're telling me these people are afraid to talk to us. how can we overcome that? co well, maybe, first you d come out and look us in the eye, first, and you could give us your real first name and your real last name, and u could be a true representative of the people, and that would start. that would be a great stt. >> their demands were that the fbi leave harney county, and that the control of not just t refuge but all federal lands in harney county be returned back to the citizens of the county and/or the state. those are not demands that we could meet, nor are they in agreement in any way, shape or form with the interpretation of the constitution as has been determined by the supreme court over many, many years. >> narrator: the fbi had set up a command post in a school, and

the airport became a staging area for tactical teams and equipment. >> the sheriff, statpolice, and federal government all of a cesudden escalated their f then we realized, "holy crap." we needed to make sure that nothing bad was going to happen to amm. >> narrator: the pacific patriots network decided to come out to the refuge. >> back up. you guys won't be allowed to come anywhere closer. >> narrar: they said they still opposed the occupation, and were only there to prevent en attack by the fbi. >> as we have se with federal operations in the past, we don't want to see a waco situation occur here at all. >> they were always armed, and they viewed themselves as a buffer between those who were oe thfuge and law enforcement. i asked, "what do you mean by being a buffer?" and i never got a great answer. >> mr. bundy, to you right there, it is time for you to go home. (cheers and applause)

>> narrator: in town, the residents were turning against une bundys. >> how was harney impacted? it's like there was a big rthquake through the population. it shattered us. you know, it fragmend people, you know? there were families that weregu g over things, you know, and friends that weren't friends anymore. and people were in fear. >>ou people get the hell o of here.t you don'own a god(bleep) nut, bolt, or nothing ee here. >> narrator: almost a month into the ocpation, lavoy finicum told reporters that he sensed the fbi's mood shifting. >> the tenor has chang, and they have become more hardened.

and when they step out of their vehicles, now they're stepping out with their rifles. they do not intend on losing here. and we do not intend giving it ba to them. >> narrator: the next day the fbi saw an opportunity to end it. >> on january 26 the fbi had developed information that a significant number of thele ership of the occupation was going to be traveling from the refuge to a meeting in john day, oregon. >> we knew t route they were going to take, we knew the carsy ar were going to be in. >> narrator: two cleft the refuge bound for john day county, 90 miles away. an fbi surveillance ple followed overhead. ammon rode in the second car. his brother ryan, lavoy finicum, and a militileader were in the

firs at the last minute, they werein jo by two women, including shawna cox. >> i wasn't supposed to be in that vehicle at all. i thought we were going to a meeting, we'll be there for a couple of hours, and we'll be back. >> you couldn't let the occupation go on forever. so the intent of this operation was to get them as far away from any populated area apossible. >> narrator: 30 miles down a twisting mountain road, the vehicles entered an area outsid of cell phonreception.d the fbi, bby state police,ov made theire. officers pulled the cars over. ammon bundy was finally arrested.d but in the lhicle, lavoy refused to get out. >> am not turning off the vehicle. this is lavoy finicum. shyou want to shoot me, yot me. but i'm not going anywhere.rk >> they had un vehicles. we don't know who these people are.d we didn't want to get out of the vehicle. and that's why i pulled up the

camera. i was in defense mode. and our best weapon is our cameras.ho >>re you? >> yeah, who are you? >> who are you? >> oregon state police. >> oregon state police. >> okay, well, i'm going over to et the sheriff in grant county. you can come along with us and you can talk with us over there. >> no, you're going tourn off your vehicle. >> you can go ahead and shoot me. put the laser right there. put the bullet through the head. >> i could see the laser on top of lavoy hat. we were absolutely afraid for our life.lo >> you want my on your hands? then get it done, because we've got people to see and places to go. >> right now you need to do what you're told. >> no, ion't. >> you need to back off. >> y need to back off. >> well, if we duck, and you drive, what are they go do, try and knock us down? how much further we got to go? >> we got about 50-odd miles.to i'm going o. you guys ready?

>> get down. >> then you duck down. >> get down. >> go. keep going. >> what about ammon and those guys? >> we cat get around him. i'm going to go get help. >> coming up fast. >> yeah, they are. >> hang on! >> okay, they're shooting. h >>g on! >> go ahead and shoot me. (gunshots) >> lavoy finicum immediately pops out of the car. law enforcement engage him, and over a period of several seconds give him commands to keep his hands up, stop reaching, stop reaching. sht he reached several times in his jacket, and wa by law enforcement. g damn it, are they shoot him? did they shoot him? you assholes. >> oh, my god! >> stay down. stay down.

>> oh, god! >> stay down.sh (gunot) >> god, keep us safe, please. >> please, please protect us, god. >> please god, god... >> please protect , please protect us, please protect us. we need help, we need help, we need help. >> did they kill him? (horn blowing) >> our most kind and gracious father who art in heaven, we come before thee in honor andmb rence of our beloved, frieur son lavoy finicum.

d we thank thee, o father, for his selfless sacrifice. >> narrator: the killing of lavoy finicum made him a martyr to his followers. >> he had become a beacon of light. >> narrator: but it was the beginning of the end of the malheur occupation.d ammon anhis supporters were now in custody, charged with felonies. he and 13 others would stand trial in portland. >> we're not going anywhere, and we will continue to take our stand. governor kate brown is responsible for the murder of lavoy finicum, for the murder of a cowboy. >> narrator: dory dae joined the patriot movement afteravoy finicum's death and ammon's arrest.il she led daprotests outside the jail where ammon ais

codefendants were being held for trial.e >> i'm out hprotesting today and every day against e hafederal government on be of our american patriots. >> narrator: federal prosecutors had imposed the most s charge they could-- conspiracy to impede federal employees. >> there were not a lot of optionin the federal criminal code for really addressing the conduct. there was no blueprint for what to do when people take over a wildlife refuge. one could reasably conclude that part of the reason that these folks were there was to keep fish and wildlifeyees from doing their jobs. that it simply was not normal to have thousandsf rounds of ammunition on a wildlife refuge in a workspace. >> narrator: the prosecution entered over 1,000 exhibits into evidence, from wiretaps, electronic surveillanc informants. their case seemed overwhelming.

>> it was unlike any case i've ever covered. >> many of you have asked us for, what is our name? >> you had an armed occupation of federal property that was broadcast. it was dumented on the defendant's own facebook pages. >> it is a time to stand up ande o harney county. >> a lot of people thought this was going to bam dunk conviction. >> narrator: ammon's attorney, marcus mumford, came up with a strategy to turn the conspiracy case on its head. >> all the way down. >> narrator: while the prosution tried to focus on the criminal charges, mumford was making a political case. e >> from veryarly on in the case, it was cle we needed to show they were protesting, and they were t conspiring. the government's evidence was all about the ammunition. it was all about the guns. >> he notion that you have this right, or it makes you moreio

pac, if you're willing to storm into a facility with your guns, that isn't how it's done in this countr (gunfire) cu narrator: this video, the only one of the ocers firing weapons at the refuge, was a key piece of the evidence for the prosecution. but the closing days of the trial it was revealed that an fbi informant had overseen the shooting exercise. >> it was one of the turning points in the trial when weup brought his issue of government informants. there had been a government edformant who, it appears, was specifically recrund instructed to go to the refuge in order to get video of these guys doing violent things. >> narrator: the fbi agent who led the investigation defended e use of informants in the case. >> there aretrict guidelines.

oww enforcement is not all, nor would they ever send ian informant to instigate any criminal activity. one of the things at i think needs to be crystal clear in any event like this-- that lawfo ement is going to use any tool in their toolbox that they cato bring a situation lik this to a peaceful conclusion. >> the case itself from the vernment side was one thing. of course our presentation of w the ca, this is government overreach. and the trial itself became an example of it. >> ammon bundy! ryan bundy! >> narrator: as the seven-week giial came to an end, protesters continued their vi outside the jail.

>> narrator: then, in late october, verdict that shocked the city. >> it was a pretty jaw-dropping verdict. everyone has been acquitted. >> seven former malheur refuge ocpiers have been found no guilty. >> the jury foreman, he looked at me and i looked at him, and i gave him a nod. and that was the best i uld do at that point for saying thank you. >> narrator: the jurors hadn't been convinced the occupation was the conspiracyth government laid out. >> we received the verdict. it was surprising, in the almost two decades that i've been handling criminal cases as a prosecutor, it has gotten more difficult with federal law enforcement like fbi agents, because there seems to be, from our vantage point, more distrust of those institutions. >> the problem with the acquittals is that it seems the bundys won twice.

what it said was that you can go in, terrorize the community y arou, and walk away scot- free. >> narrator: but ammon's victory would be short lived.or federal prosecin nevada had finally filed their own charges against him and his family for the bunkerville standoff. and as the verdict was read, marshals were there to take him back to face charges.fo marcus mumrd started to protest.o >>m arguing with the marshals, and we're having this conversation about, "well, if you have the order, show it to me, if not, he should be free to go." and at that point a marshal came up and just grabbed me. all of them surrounded me at th, same tut their hands on me and just, you know, started to pull my hands behind my back.y then thet me down on the floor. i was on my belly. they tased me. they put the stun gun on me, anm they hwith it. >> narrator: mumford was arrested for creating a disturbance in the court.

the charges were later dropped,l and ammon be transferred to a prison in nevada. it turned out the fbi had been trying to build its case against ammon and his family ever since the standoff in 2014. shortly after the standoff had ended, the fbi infiltratedmi the ranch. (phone ringing) >> hello, bundys. >> may i ask who's calling? >> okay, jt a second, let me get to him. >> narrator: they posed as a documentary film company, longbow productions, and filmed over several months. the otage has not been broadcast before, and we've concealed the undercover agents' identities and voices. >> this is ammon bundy. how are you doin w >> i don't knoif you could tell; there's a little level ofn yoow, uncomfortable, and

just wanted to make sure thatl we're al the same page. >>e,o we looked you up onlin tyand we found just a pret simple website. >> i think i've... got what i wanted, so i feel a lot more comfortable about it. >> i never did once think i'd have to take a life.me i was never >> narrator: in the interviews, they wanted to know who plannedn the standoffwho was in charge. >> so, at the circumstance, or just in general? >> my dad was really skeptical, you know, he really was. then i end up basically talking

my family into it. tod so, you know, they wen our home. >> can you hear me now? testing, testing. >> i think about that. the whole time my mom's in there cooking for them, and they're plotting to destroy our family. >> narrator: the fbi also used its access to the bundy family totoonvince militia members talk.on of them was greg burleson, who had been at the standoff. >> right. on that note, i'd like another shot. (laughing) >> dead bodies, literally.

>> once we set up a perimeter, anything that comes into the perimeter-- it doesn'tr if we're up at the bundy ranch, or if we're out in the southern dese-- if it comes into our perimeter, if it's not a friendly, it dies. >> narrator: the fbi declined to comment on theperation. but federal prosecutors used some of the footage to help convict burleson of eight charges, including threatening d assaulting a federal officer. he was sentenced to 68 years in prison. >> i can't tell you that. >> i can't tell you that. >> if we don't stand now, we will never get our lands back. >> narrator: the footage is also part of the case agait the bundy family. >> is this an interview and a documentary, or is this anog inteion? that was basically our question.

>> narrator: as the bundys awaited trial, once again protesters gathered, this time, outside the gates of the private prison in nevada where they were being held. >> truth is out and now we knowo let thtical prisoners go! >> today, it's the bundys; tomorrowt's you. >> today, it's the bundys; tomorrow, it's you.in (che >> narrator: the bundys had galvanized the so-called "patriot movement", and channeled anti-governmt sentiment that continues. >> just as you granted a big miracle for us in portland. we know that you have miracles for us here. amen. >> amen. >> now if convicted, the bundys faced decades behind bars. >> yeah, my dad's 70 years old. it's a death sentence to him. you know, my brothers, it's all of us. all of us will be dead before they let us go. as much as i hope that we are found not guilty, and i get to

go home to my family, i don't think it'll matter. i believe that what we have done has ma a difference, and will continue to make a difference. >> when tyranny becomes la rebellion becomes duty! >> whether we agree or disagree even with the bundys, we all a victims when this is allowed to take place. when there is this kind of breach of the rule of law, we're all harmed. >> narrator: in november 2017, a surprise. >> ...ammon bundy is out of jail today... >> facing charges stemming from a 2014 armed standoff... >> narrator: the judge ordered that the bundy's could be released while their trial was under way. >> we suffered for 2 years trying to tell the world that what happened there was not whan

the gonts been saying happened. >> narrator: weeks later all e charges against the bund were dismissed. >> narrator: allegations swirled around this reservation doctor for years. >> when i went downstairs was when i was floored because of what i saw there a lot of items liat boys would play with. >> narrator: front and the wall street journal investigate the government's failure to stop decades of abuse. >> why protect a pedophile? a if they knewbout it why did they protect him? >> narrator: despite the warnings... >> what kind of cover up is this? this involves a lot of people in a lot ofigh places. >> go to pbs.org/frontline for a special inside look at the government's struggle to deal with the bundys and the militia movement.to >> you neeeave. that's-that's... >> and i'm telling you you need to de-escalate the situation. >> learn more about the groups at the center of today's militia movement... >> and we have to remind our federal gornment that we are

the power. >> then visit our watch page, where you can stream more than 200 ntontline docuies. connect to the frontline community on facebook and twitr, then sign up for our newsletter at pbs.org/frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to you station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t.da macarthur foon, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful wor. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of socialhange worldwide. additional support is provided byhe abrams foundation, committed to excellence in n,urnalism. the park foundat dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust. supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. the heising-simons foundation: unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities. and by the frontline journalism fund,

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onarrator: on this episo "earth focus," the most basic human need is also its most precious commodity. in california's central valley, home to 19% of the food production in the world, many live without clean drinking water while at the edge o' moroccos sahara region, harvesting water from fog has the ial to deeply impact a culture. [camera focus ring clicking] [shuer clicking]