BURNS, Ore.—The armed activists occupying a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon clashed with environmentalists Saturday as a standoff stretched into a 15th day.
A shouting match erupted as members of the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit conservation group, tried to speak at a news briefing, The Oregonian reported. As the center’s executive director Kieran Suckling began speaking, the armed activists screamed and booed him.
“We’re here to speak up for public land, which belongs to the public,” Suckling said over the yelling. “These people are trying to take the land away.”
The armed group took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to protest federal land use policies. So far, authorities have not tried to remove the group from refuge.
