>> narrator: tonight... >> i'm asking you to follow me. and we're going toake a hard stand. >> narrator: how one family's fight... >> the issue with the bundye family started man 20 years ago. >> an armed standoff in bunkerville... >> narrator: ...sparked a movement... >> we did not anticipate thesere hundds of militia people coming in, many of them heavily armed. >> i was convinced iwas going to go south. it w that close. >> this became sort of this rallying cry for anti-governmenr exists everywhere. >> narrator: ...and chal the federal government... >> bundy took over thmalheur national wildlife... >> that's exactly why we had guns there.pe they would r 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 occupation

peacefully. they had armed guards at the gates. they had armed patrols. theylearly intended to defen their position. >> narrator: tonight on frontlinthe inside story of an armed uprising and a movement that calls themselves "american patriots." >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station om viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more iormation at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries othe frontlines of social change worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. the park foundation, deccated to heightening pub awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust.

pporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. >> i'm the son of a rancher.d that's what i am, don't want to be anything more than that. my family established an homestead in the virlley in southern nevada in 1877, and they began to run cattle. i always dreamed about being able to ranch.ra but the fegovernment has turned its eyes, as modern conquerors, and focused on controlling the land a the resources.

we are at a dangerous time, and i'm not just talking about ranchers. i'm talking about all aspects of what this nation was built on. >> narrator:hen we met ammon bundy, he was facing theil possity of life in prison. b he hadeen called a hero and a criminal, a patrio and a domestic trorist. amdn claimed he never wante 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 inbu erville. >> 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 cattl rancher. >> rancher clin bundy... >> cliven bundy says other cattle ranchers were forced off the land, but is refusing toe. leav >> narrator: in the fall of 2013, ammon bundy's family lost a decades-long legal battle with the federal government. they'd been refusing to remove their cattle from public land near bunkerville, nevada. and owed over a million dollars in fees and fines. for 20 years, the government had been trying to phase out ranching in bunkerville to deal with development and environmental issues. some ranchers shut down, others

stook buyouts, but ammon' fath, cliven bundy, refused.da >> md said no. and when they come and said they're going to take it anyway, he said, "hell no! you're not going to take awayrs what my grandfatassed down to me." he said no. >> the issue with thbundy years ago.rted more than 20 >> narrar: steve ellis was a deputy director of the bureauna of land magement, the blm, which grants permits to ranchers to graze their cattle on public land. >> the u.s. government is a huge landlord in the west. inherently there's going to be conflicts and challenges for us in making decisions. blm wamaking a change in mr. bundy's permit. mr. bundy rejected that and stopped paying his grazing fees and that started the whole thing. >> the blm was threatening to

decrease his cattle operation to the 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 stopaying, you can still continue operating. so the only action the blm cans take at that point 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. >>angers and agents from several federal agencies are preparing to move against ncher cliven bundy. me in and began to build their compound, and it was built like a military be. i'm, you know, saying, "dad, i really want to be able to do something if you need meit to d >> narrator: as the blm was impounding hundreds of the bundys' cattle, ammon's brother dagan filming government convoys. (indistinct voice on radio)

>> hey, sir! >> narrator: when agents ordered him to stop,e refused, as his older brother ryan tried to intervene.m >> i aing to take him with me. >> okay, he's a grown man. he can take himself, okay, sir? this is your first choice, sir, to leave, to leave?to i'm going drag you out of the car, okay, here in a second. sir, sir, leave now. >> several men came down, threw him to the ground, and tn they detained him and took him to the compound.ca >> 1608 turning mera off. bundy has left the area.s >> it at night that my dad g said, "well, iuess it's time foyou to come." when i dropped down into the valley, i couldn't believe what i saw. i pulled into the protest site, and, uh, there's, like, 40 or 50 people there. it was quite amazing to see the people unite. >> narrator: as he arrived in bunkerville, he found thatra hers from across the state

had rallied to his father's defense. >> this bundy family, no more thanust a good ranch family. there's a good example of what they've tried to do to them right he, on this deal right here, only the people haved finally haough. ,>> for the last 20 years they've been after the good guys. >> yeah.n >> ranchers have bustrated with the federal government for a very long time. they severely cut back the c amount of timetle can be on public lands. ranchers are always having to look over their shoulder and wonder, "when is my ranch no longer gonna bviable?" the bundys are among the last ranchers in clark county. >> (chanting): no blm! no blm! >> narrator: as the crowds grewn protestersfronted government ents. (protestors shouting) >> they body-slammed my aunt margar to the ground. (shouting) 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,his is not good. i mean, the opticsf this is going to be horrible." >> this skirmish quickly turned into an angry mob, and protestors were hurt. >> then he tased me again. probably bause i didn't drop on the ground. >> we always knew the potential that they would not cooperate, but we did not anticipate those in.ge numbers of people coming >> in the past, we saw similar activities of protest. but what's different about 2014 and bunkerville is that a bunch of people show up to support 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. and on facebook, his wife, carol, cled for militias from across the country to come and support them. that caught the attention of ryan lenz at the southern pover law center. >> we tracanti-government groups and extremist groups. we focus on both racial

extremism and anti-governmentch extremism, both of wave been growing quite immensely in recent years. ma this i of ammon bundy tasered became sort of thi rallying cry foren anti-governmextremists 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 and the aunt getting 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, ts is not what the constitutionst ds for," and we have to remind our federal government that we are the power. >> people are coming in from out of state now 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 supportnd of cliven

>> 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 different branches. everybody had a purpose or are on to come, but it was all based on the fact that they know sebody is being abused, and something's not right. >> narrator: militias from around the country descended on bunkerville. >> the oath keepers, which isis roup of former military and police personnel, the three percenters who believehat 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 ld management watched with increasi alarm as the situation escalated. >> we're surrounded byeople

with guns, these hundreds of militia people coming in. many of them are heavily armed from around the country. >> narrator: on april 12, the blm said they would stopro ding up more cattle. but that wasn't enough for cliven. he wanted all his cows back. >> good morning, citens of clark county, nevada! (crowd cheers) good morning, america! (crowd cheers) >> cliven basically says, "we're about to take this and let's go get my ca >> we're going to go and take the rest of them out of thera compound c up here above the freeway. (crowd cheers) >> and boom, they're off! >> let's get 'er done! >> narrator: the bunkerville protest was becoming an >> we're taking back our county, that's basically what's gointo happen, then we're going to take back our state. >> narrator: ammon and hundreds of protesters headed for the lot where the government had impounded the family's cattle.

>> narrator: taken by law enforcement that day. >> narrator: some of it has ver been shown before. >> they were all heading to this wash, where the main entrance was to the pen where the blm held his cattle. es>> narrator: as the protters converged on the cattle pen, law enforcement officers from aha lf-dozen agencies scrambled tof. hold them of >> where you going to set up a triage area? >> behind the vehicles over here. >> okay. >> no, that's what i saying. >> once we were down the,

they were in stacking position with their rifles up. >> we're afraid, because they'rt telling hat if we don't disperse, they're gog to open fire, and that's what we belied 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 become, how we had a very volatile situation right then. >> northbound lane has rifles. with scopes. >> which one? >> northbound-- the furthest bridge. >> the government had snipers and the militia put in place counter-snipers. it was a level otension and borderline violence. it i was convinced as going to go south, that it was that close.

>> these swat teams knew these guys are out there, there to defend, a they will whip your ass, we will die. >> bundy! bundy, come here! >> narrator: at thhead of the crowd, ammon bundy confronted blm agent dan love, demanding he release the family's cattle. >> we're staying here unti they're gone. that's what we're doing. >> blm, go home! >> what was going through my mind is, it is not worth it to0ave anybody hurt over 40 cows that they hadmpounded at that point. so i told them to pull out. and to pull out now. (crowd cheering) >> narrator: the bundyand their militia supporters had len rmed standoff, in defiance

of court orders, and no one was arrested. n theyt their cows back. >> t bureau of land management was trying to root my dad off his ranch for 30 years now.it foo unfold the way it did was absolutely a miracle to us. and amazing. >> they can gloat all they want. but everyone went homeafe. and i also knew that eventually the wheels of justice would start turning, that that was not the d of it. >> narrator: the federal government had backed down.he but it would spend text two years trying to bring e bundys to justice. thrust into the nationwere spotlight. hannity, and this is a fox news alert. the federal government may have surrendered in the battle against nevada rancher cliven bundy. (cheering) >> narrator: the discussion was as divided as the country itself. >> the law breaking rancher

named cliven bundy has literally put the bureau of land management in the crosshairs of sniper rifles. >> frankly, i thought there 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 ernkerville happens, it is much local battle and local relationip with the blm, but because of the coverage it draws from the media there are other people who will appropriate bundy and his causee and t 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 us about thebo irs, what happened in benghazi, and the lies that h solth care. i'm concerned that the government is overreachi here. >> i don't think in any way cliven bundy wanted to be theha poster child for seaity or the far right. i don't think he w particularly interested in any

given political movement. >> narrator: the bundys wantedla to use their neworm to talk about what mattered to them. ef their behat public land should be managed locally, not by the federal government. >> the fact is, the federal government have oversteppedun their 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 backlash was immediate. >> conservatives smpeded away from nevada rancher cliven bundy. >> i believe those comments are downricist. they are repugnant, they are bigoted, and it's beyond disturbing >> narrator: from then on, ammon would be the voice of the bundy family.e >> the peove the 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, but ammon is slowly building up a larger network of supporters through the internet and other places. >> who has heard the story of what happened? >> he is beginning texport 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 prayed longer than i'd ever prayed in life. >> narrator: he and his family are devout mormons. and ammon spread his famy message with the zeal of a missionary. he argued that under the constitution, the federal government has no right to restrict ranchers use of public 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 becomingso a leader in thalled "patriot movement". >> if people want to call me ain leader, that's but i'm

doing what every person should do, and it's that simple. >> narrator: in his travels, ammon learned of a famy in eastern oregon whose battles with the federal governmenthi reminded him of 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 whoed repe clashed 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 manyn the land rights movement. >> narrator: in 2012, the hammondsere prosecuted for settings fires that destroyed federal land and endangeredes people's l they claimed the fires were to maintain their grazing landsp and haad out of control, but they faced a mandatory minimum of five years.

>> the hammonds are longtimen ranchers istern oregon thatit had been charged warson. their case went to trial in pendleto oregon, and that resulted in 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 satisy the prosecutors. >> the law wasn't followed. so, that matter was appealedth an were sentenced to the five year mandatory minimium. >> two oregon ranche 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 hear about the hammonds. body.urge just filled my whole i felt a dive drive, an urge that said you have to get involved.

>> nrator: so in the fall of 2015, ammon went to burns, oregon, a place, like the rest of harney county, thatad fallen on hard times. chris brielssed to be the fire chief here. >> i moved here in 1978. burns was kind of cool was the place i wanted to be because it was away from the big city and all the extraneous crazy stuff that goen n the rest of the world. and so it was a safe andai wonderful place to r my kids. i thought. the economy was booming. there were a lot of people working in the mill.ot there weref loggers, a lot of truckers haing logs.ll ranchers were doing . it was a nice place to be. industry, and it's defyveyard of not the same.

but i love this area. >> my name is ammon bundy. i don't live in oregon...ir >> the time that ammon came to harney county, i heard on facebook, because we don't have a radio station here. >> if we were abiding by the constituti, the hammonds would never be in the position they're in. if we're abiding by the constitution, these ranchers being in fear.to ranch without >> i've always been involved c with tmunity, and i thought, i'm going to go out and i'm going to find out what kind of weirdos we got in our backyard now, yoknow? and then, ammon got up and started talking. >> (voice breaking): the lord happening to the hammor t was and i apologize fobeing emotional, i hope you guys can get past that. >> and i listened and i was just ki of transfixed.

it's like wow, this guy is sincere. you know, he had found out about the hammonds a he had some real concerns. well, i'll be danged; this is a real cowboy. >> narrator: ammon took totr social mediang to bring attention to the hammonds' situation. >> what has happened to the hammonds will happen to more ane eople. 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 anying to pass on to our children. >> narrator: ammon's call to action was heard by many of thea me militia members who hadte supporhis family at the bundy ranch. >> when i found out ammon bundyc had contwith 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 formedn alliance with other groups in the northwest. they called themselv the pacific patriots network. >> okay, so, two mags of five. >> two mags of five for now... >> narrator: joseph rice leads a ppn chapter in oregon's gue valley. >> ammon bundy has drawn attention tohe abuses by the three-letter agencies in the management of our natural resource it started the discussion. it's why you guys are sitting here. (clicking) five rounds in placetransition to pistol, two rounds. (ammunition and guns clicking) >> i don't know any other way to describe what happened to thely hammond faother than... i don't understand what countryw we live n it comes to that. >> when ready... and commence. fire! (gunshots) >> there was a need for people

to be defended. (gunshots) >> cease fire, cease fire. >> narrator: two days before the hammonds returned to jail, ammon bundy and the pacific patriots network organized a rally in downtown burns. >> on january 2, the bundysd s followers had organized a rally in support of the hammond family >> where's idaho? heering) where's oregon? (cheering) >> several hundred people show up at the rally... >> we're gonna continue down this road to the corner where everybody ready to do this? (cheering) >> ...and they marched thrgh the streets of burns. (crowd singing "amazing grac)

stopped in front of thers hammonds' home. (crowd singing) >> the most humbling experience that anybody could have. >> narrator: the march was supposed to end in the safeway parking lot. but ammon had decided to takeer things fur >> after we rallied there in burns, what were we supposed to dojust go home?k, just say, "okay, l you know, the hammond family will go to prison for five years"? you kn, what are the people, just to go home? we had 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 m >> about 40 miles. >> it's about 40 miles! >> 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.pe nobody really was ing it. nobody knew what it was. nobody knew how it would end. and, really, nobody knew how far the buys would go. >> a really bizarre anti- government protest ispl ing out on a remote wildlife refuge. >> armed anti-government protesters who've taken over a group of federal buildings. police are keeping their distance for now, hoping to ride this thing out. >> many of you have asked us for what is our name. and that would bcitizens for constitutional freedom. our purpose is trestore andn. defend the constitut >> 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. they clearly intended to stayei and to defend position.

militia allies had stahindmmon's in burns. for them, taking the refuge was >> oregon 3 percent is not going. the pacific patriots netwo is not going. we respect the 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 leadership said, "no, that's not what wee here for." >> i had no idea, i had no intention, tt something this drastic would come from this.t >> the burns incidsolutely separated the patriot movement. what happened in malheur felt offensive. it felt like you're taking the fight to them, rather than fending somebody else. >> narrator: ammon was left with a core group of supporters. many of them had been at the andoff in bunkerville. >> over the first initial days of the occupation, we were able

identify a core group o leadership who were active in recruitingeople to come to the refuge and communicating with the press.ar >>tor: one of ammon's closest allies at malheur was an old family friend. >> lavoy finicum. i'm a rancher in northern arizona. >> we were awa 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. you want to pick on so, come pick on me. >> narrator: the occupiers braced 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 the tension and escalationd

that occur that point. >> narrator: so the fbi held back and waited. the occupiers traveled regularlu between the and the town, and the authorities made no effort to arrest them. >> it wasn't easy. it goes coter to any lawce enforcement offir that you'll ever meet to stand by and watch someone break the law, clearly break the law, and be out touting the fact they're breaking the law, and not do anything about it. >> that's exactly why we had guns there. if we had them, they would speak.esus and allow us to returned back to the pe.be 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, th o would have put zip ties us and hauled us off in paddy wagons. >> narrator: the standoff

dragged on for days, and the weeks, as the occupiers issued demands. some of them posted videosth of the negotiations the fbi. >> you're telling me these people are afraid to talk to us. how can we overcome that? >> well, maybe, first you could come out and look us in the eye, first, and you could give us your real first name and your real last name, and you could be a true representative of the people, and that would start. that would be a great start. >> their demands were that thent fbi leave harney c and that the control of not just the dsrefuge but all federal ln 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 orin form with thrpretation 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 equipment.actical teams and >> the sheriff, state police, and federal government all of a then we realized, "holy crap." we needed to make sure that nothing bad was going to happen to ammon. >> narrator: the pacific patriots network decided to come out to the refuge. >> back up. you guys won't be allod to come anywhere closer.ar rator: they said they still opposed the occupation, and were only there to prevent an attack by the fbi. >> as we have seen 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 on the refuge and law enforcement. i asked, "what do you mean by being a buffer?" and i ner 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 residentwere turning against the bundys. >> how was harney county impacted? it's like there was a big earthquake through the population. it shattered us. f you know, gmented people, you know? there were families that were arguing over things, you know, and friends that weren't friends anymore. and people were in fear. >> you people get the hell out of here. you don't own a god(bleep) nut,t bolt, or nhing else here. >> narrator: almost a month into the occupation, lavoy finicum told reporters that he sensed the fbi's mood shifting. >> the tenor has changed, and they have become more hardened.

and when they step out of their vehicles, now they're steppingwi out th their rifles. they do not intend on losing here. back to them. intend giving it >> narrator: t next day the fbi saw an opportunity to end it. >> on january 26 the fbi had developed information that a significant number of the leadership of the occupation was going to be traveling from the refuge to a meeting in john day, oregon. >> we knew the route they were going to tak we knew the cars they were going to be in. >> narrator: two cars left then refuge bound for johy county, 90 miles ay. an fbi surveillance plane followedverhead. his brother ryan, lavonicum,a and litia leader were in the

first. at the last nute, they were joined by two women, includingox shawna. >> i wasn't supposed to be in that vehicle at all. i thought were going to a meeting, we'll be there for a couple of hours, and we'll be back. >> you couldn't t the occupation go on forever. so the intent of this operation was to get them as far away from any populated area as possible.> arrator: 30 miles down a twisting mountain road, the vehicles entered an area outside of cell phone reception. the fbi, backed by state police, made their move. officers pulled the cars over. ammon bundy was finally arrested. but in the lead vehicle, lavoy refused to get out. vehicle.not turning off the this is lavoy finicum. you want to shoot me, you shoot me. but i'm not going anywhere. >> they had unmarked vehicles. weon't know who these peop are. and we didn't want to get out ol the ve and that's why i pulled up the

camera.en i was in d mode. and our best weapon is our cameras. >> who are you? a >> yeah, w you? >> who are you? >> oregon state police. >> oregon state police. >> okay, well, i'm going over to meet the sheriff in grant county you can come along with us and you can talk with us over there. >> no, you're going to turn off your vehicle. g >> you cahead and shoot me. put the laser right there. put the bullet thrgh the head. >> i could see the laser on top of lavoy's hat. we were absolutely afraid for our life. >> you want my blood on your hands? then get it done, because we've est people to see and placo go. >> right now you need to do what you're told. >> no, i don't. >> you need to back off. >> you need to back off. >> well, if we duck, and you drive, what are they going to , try and knock us down? how much further we got to go? >> we got about 50-odd miles. i'm going to go.

you guys ready? >> get down. >> then you duck down.n. >> get dow >> go. >> what about ammon and those guys? we can't get around him. i'm going to go get lp. >> coming up fast. >> yeah, they are. >> hang on! >> okay, they're shooting. >> hang on! >>o ahead and shoot me. (gunshots) >> lavoy finicum immediately pops out of the car. , w enforcement engage himd over a period of several seconds give him commands to keep his hands up, stop reaching, stop reaching. but he reached several times in his jacket, and was shot by law enforcement. >> damn it, are they shooting him? did they shoot him? you assholes. >> oh, my god! >> stay down.

stay down. >> oh, god! >> stay down. (gunshot) >> god, keep us safe, please. >> please, please protect us, god. >> please god, god... >> please protect us, 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 iheaven, we come before thee in honor and remembrance of our beloved friend, your son lavoy finicum.

and we thank thee, o father, for his selfless sacrifice. >> narrator: the killing of lavoy finicum made him a martyre to his fol. >> he had become a beacon of light. >> nrator: but it was the beginning of the end of the malheur occupation. ammon and his supporters werein no custody, charged with felonies. hend 13 others would stand trial in portland. >> we're not going anywhere, and we will continue to take our stan governor kate brown is responsible for the murder of lavoy finicum, for the murder of a cowboy. d >> narrator:ory dae joined the patriot movement after lavoy finicum's ath and ammon's arrest. she led daily protests outside the jail where ammon and his

codefeants were being held for trial. >> i'm out here protesting today and every day against the federal government on behalf of our american patriots. >> narrator: federal prosecutors had imposed the most severe charge they could-- conspiracy to impede federal employees. tions in the federal criminal code for really addressing the conduct. there was no blueprint f what to do when people take over a wildlife refuge. co one d reasonably conclude that part of the reason that these folks were there was to keep fish and wildlife employees from doing tir jobs. that it simply was not normal to have thousands of rounds of ammunition on a wildlifeefuge in a workspace. >> narrator: the prosecution entered over 1,000 exhibits into evidence, from wiretaps, electronic surveillance, and informants. their case seemed overwhelming.

>> it was unlike any case i've ever covered. >> my of you have asked us for, what is our name? >> you had an armed occupation of federal property that was it was documented on the defendant's own facebook pages. >> it is a time to stand up and come to harney county. >> a lot of people thought this was going to be a slam 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. prosecution tried to focus on the crinal charges, mumford was making a political case. >> from very early on in the case, it was clear we needed to show they were protesting, and they were not conspiring. the government's evidence was all about the ammunition. it was all about the guns. >> the notion that you have this right, or it makes you more

patriotic, if you're willing to storm into a facility with your guns, that isn't how it's dones in tuntry. (gunfire) >> narrator: this video, the only one of the occupiers firing weeyons at the refuge, was a piece of the evidence for the prosecution. but in the closing days of the fbi informant had oventhat aner the shooting exercise. >> it was onof the turning points in the trial when we brought up this issue of i governmentormants. therhad been a government informant who, it appears, was specifically recruited and instrued 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 the use of informants in the case.he >> t are strict guidelines.

law enforcement is not allowed,e nor would theyr send in an informant to instigate any criminal activity. t one of tngs that i think needs to be crystal clear in any event like this-- that law enforcement is going to use any can to bring a situation likeey this to a peaceful conclusion. >> the case itself from the government side was one thing. of course our presentation of the case was, this is government overreach. and the trial itself became an example of it. >> ammon bundy! ryan bundy! >> narrator: as the seven-week trial came to an end, protesters continued their vigils outside the jail.

>> narrator: then, in late october, a verdict that shocked the city. >> it was a pretty jaw-dropping everyone has been acqu >> seven former malheur refuge occupiers have been found not guilty. >> the jury foreman, he looked at me and i loed at him, and i gave him a nod. and that was the best i could do at that point for saying thank you. >> narrator: the juror hadn't been convinced the occupation was the conspiracy the 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. em >> the proith the acquittals is that it seems thei

bundys won. what it said was that you can go in, terrorize the community around you, and walk away scot- free. >> narrator: but ammon's victory would short lived. federal prosecutors in nevada had finally filed their own charges against him and his family for t bunkerville standoff. anas the verdict was read, marshals were there to take him back to face charges. marcus mumford started to protest. >> so i'm arguing with the marshals, and we're having this conversation about, "well, if you have the order, show it tod me, if not, he sho free to go." and at that point a marshal came up and just grabbed me all of them surrounded me at the same time, put their hands on me anjust, you know, started pull my hands behind my back. then they put me down on the floor. i was on my belly. they tased me. they put the stun gun on m and they hit me with it. >> narrator: mumford was arrested for creating a diurbance in the court.

the charges were later dropped, and ammon would be transferred p toson in nevada. it turned out thfbi had been trying to build its case against ammon and his family ever since the standoff in 2014. shortly after the stando had ended, the fbi infiltrated the family ranch. (phone ringing) >> hello, bundys. >> may i ask who's calling? >> okay, just a second, let me get to him. >> narrator: they posed as a documentary film company, illongbow productions, andd over several months. the footage has not been broadcast before, and we've concealed the undercover agents' identities and voices. >> this is ammon bundy.e how aru doing? >> i don't know if you could tell; there's a littleevel of you know, uncomfortable, and

just wted to make sure that we're all on the same page. >> so we looked you up online, and we found just a prettysi simple web. >> 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. i was never armed. >> narrator: in the interviews, they wanted to know who planned the standoff, and who was in charge. >> so, at the circumstance, or just in general? >> my dad was really skeptical,l you know, he rwas.

then i end up basically talking my family into it. and so, you know, they went to our home. >> can you hear me now? testing, testing. >> i think about that. the whole time my mom's in there cooking fothem, and they're plotting to destroy our family. >> narrator: the fbi also used its access to the bundy family to convince militia members to talk. one 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't matter if we're up at the bundy ranch, or desert-- if it comes into our perimeter, if it's not a friendly, it dies. >> narrator: the fbi declined to but federal prosecutors used some of the footage to help convict burleson of eight charges, including threatening and assaulting a federal officer. he wasentenced 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.oo >> narrator: thege is also part of the case against the bundy family. >> is this an interview and a documentary, or is this an interrogation?as thatasically our question.

>> narrator: as the bundyse awaited trial, oain protesters gathered, this time, outside the gates of the private prison in nevada truth is out and now we know, !et the political prisoners >> today, it's the bundys; tomorrow it's you. >> today, it's the bundys; tomorrow, it's you. (cheering) >> narrator: the bundys had galvanized the so-calleden "patriot movem, and channeled anti-government sentiment that continues. >> just as you granted aig 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.c it's a deathto 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 think it'll matter.y, i don't i believe that what we have done has made a difference, and willa continue t a difference. >> when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty! >> whether we agree or disagreee even with the bundysll are victims when this is allowed to take place. when there is this kd of breach of the rule of law, we're all harmed. >> narrator: in november 2017, a surprise. >> ...ammon ndy is out of jail today... >> facing charges stemming fromf a 2014 armed sf... that the bundy's could be released while their trial was under way. >> we suffered for 2 years trying to tell the world tt what happened there was not what

the governments been saying happened. >> nartor: weeks later all the charges against the bundys were dismissed. ♪ hold, hold on hold on to me ♪ 'cause i'm a little unsteady ♪ >> what's the situation there? >> how do you explain th? >> are you ready for this world that we are facing today? ♪ >> go to pbs.org/frontline for a special look inside the government's struggle to deal with the bundy's and the militia >> you need to leave. that's, that's the terms... >> and i'm telling you, you need to deescalate the situation. >> no... ab >> and learn mort the self described patriots. >> and we have to remind our federal government that we are the power.

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