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Key things to know about the militia standoff in Oregon

An Oregon wildlife refuge might be the site of the next major standoff between anti-government militias and federal agents — and it&#39;s even splitting opinion within the militia movement. (Video via&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/malheur/multimedia/video_pages/restore_malheur_lake.html" target="_blank">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>)The story centers around two ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, who were convicted of arson in 2012 for setting fires that spread to Steens Mountain, a federally protected area.The Hammonds have already served time but are now being sent back to prison. An appeals court ruled their original judge had no authority to reduce the men&#39;s sentences below the minimum five years.&nbsp;The case is controversial and has provoked an outpouring of support from those who feel the Hammonds are victims of overreach from the Bureau of Land Management. (Video via&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ktvz.com/news/militia-takes-over-wildlife-refuge-hq-after-peaceful-burns-protest/37227522" target="_blank">KTVZ</a>)It also drew the attention of Ammon Bundy, son of rancher Cliven Bundy whose ranch was the center of a stand-off with government agents in 2014.&quot;By standing with the Hammonds, we stand for our children and our children&#39;s children,&quot; Ammon Bundy said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1BCMJlV83E" target="_blank">a November 2015 YouTube video</a>.Ammon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/bundyranch/videos/937487166328092/" target="_blank">issued a call</a>&nbsp;for &quot;all patriots&quot; to &quot;stand up&quot; and &quot;come prepared&quot; to defend the Hammonds from what he calls an unconstitutional land grab. It&#39;s not clear how many people responded, though the group claims there are 150 men occupying the wildlife refuge office.The interesting wrinkle here is that, while the Hammonds have thanked their supporters, they&#39;ve also publicly disavowed the militia&#39;s actions and say they plan to turn themselves in peacefully.That means the Oath Keepers, a prominent militia group that showed up heavily armed to the protests in Ferguson and to the Bundy ranch in Nevada, won&#39;t be heading to Oregon. The group&#39;s founder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oathkeepers.org/the-hammond-family-does/" target="_blank">criticized Ammon Bundy</a>&nbsp;for acting against the Hammonds&#39; wishes.&quot;If they don&#39;t want their family in the middle of an armed standoff, I don&#39;t think it&#39;s right for us to go in there and try to force that on them. I think that&#39;s the wrong way to go,&quot; Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes said.But other members of the militia movement see this as bigger than the Hammonds.&quot;The U.N., through the BLM and the Department of the Interior, they&#39;ve been trying to steal land,&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXX6wLSEdA8" target="_blank">Internet broadcaster Pete Santilli</a>&nbsp;said.&nbsp;Many right-wing groups oppose the bureau on principle. They believe it has a U.N.-mandated goal to take control of more land for the purpose of restricting individual liberties. So, to them, squaring off against the bureau is a patriotic duty. (Video via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iut1hQzUvsc" target="_blank">U.S. Bureau of Land Management</a>)And if that&#39;s not enough, Bundy also says that he would have the Hammond family&#39;s support if not for intimidation from the federal government.&quot;The U.S. Attorneys Office caught wind of what was going on ... and told them that if the Hammonds did not end communications with us, that they would detain the Hammonds early ... and that they would put them in a less desirable prison,&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7M0mG6HUyk" target="_blank">Bundy said</a>&nbsp;in a YouTube video.Bundy says his militia is prepared to occupy the wildlife refuge for years. He&#39;s also threatened violence if any government agents try to remove them.This video includes images from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/blmoregon/15575399109/" target="_blank">U.S. Bureau of Land Management</a>, the U.S. Department of Justice,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/14742520503/" target="_blank">Gage Skidmore / CC BY SA 2.0</a>, Getty Images and&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MalheurNWRHeadquarters.jpg" target="_blank">Cacaphony / CC BY SA 3.0</a>.&nbsp;

By: The Associated Press

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BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Armed protesters are occupying a building at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon and asking militia members around the country to join them. The protesters went to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday following a peaceful rally in support of two Oregon ranchers facing additional prison time for arson.

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HOW DID THIS SITUATION BEGIN?

Tension has been building for weeks in the Burns, Oregon, area over the case of Dwight and Steven Hammond. Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, said they lit fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006 to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires. The two were convicted three years ago and served time — the father three months, the son one year. But in October, a federal judge in Oregon ruled their terms were too short under U.S. law and ordered them back to prison for about four years each.

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WHO IS LEADING THE PROTESTERS?

The Hammonds have received support from local residents, but the most vocal groups are from outside the area. Ammon Bundy, the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a standoff with the government over grazing rights, is among those organizing the opposition at the wildlife refuge. Ammon Bundy and militiamen from other states arrived last month in Burns, some 60 miles from the Hammond ranch. Ammon Bundy has criticized the U.S. government for what he called a failed legal process.

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WHERE IS THE WILDLIFE REFUGE?

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is about 30 miles south of Burns in in the high desert of eastern Oregon. The area is very remote, about 280 miles southeast of Portland.

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OUTSIDERS NOT WELCOMED BY SOME IN OREGON

Many locals have told the outside groups to stay away, concerned their presence could lead to violence. The Hammonds, as well, have rebuffed the Bundy's support for their cause. "Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his group/organization speak for the Hammond Family," the Hammonds' lawyer W. Alan Schroeder wrote to Sheriff David Ward. Dwight Hammond has said he and his son plan to peacefully report to prison Monday as ordered by the judge. "We gave our word that's what we would do, and we intend to act on it," he told The Associated Press last week.

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WHAT ARE AUTHORITIES DOING?

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward has told people to stay away from the area as authorities work to defuse the situation. Beth Anne Steele, an FBI spokeswoman in Portland, told AP the agency was aware of the situation at the national wildlife refuge but made no further comment.