Oregon occupier LaVoy Finicum shot dead by the FBI is hailed as a hero during Utah funeral attended by hundreds of people from across the country
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has launched an investigation into whether FBI agents may have misled investigators looking into the fatal shooting of an armed anti-government activist in Oregon two months ago, according to sources familiar with the probe.
State police say a review of the shots that actually killed LaVoy Finicum found the shooting to be justified, but questions remain over two other shots fired when police and the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team tried to arrest several alleged militants for taking over a federal wildlife refuge in Burns, Oregon.
“[O]ne, and possibly two, additional shots were fired by law enforcement as Mr. Finicum was exiting the vehicle after hitting the snow bank,” the head of the FBI’s office in Portland, Special Agent in Charge Gregory Bretzing, said at a news conference today.
Neither of those shots hit Finicum, and “the question of who fired these shots has not been resolved,” Bretzing said.
Police officials, however, believe they know who fired those shots, saying today that the pair of bullets were “fired by the FBI HRT members.”
At least initially, FBI agents didn’t disclose to authorities reviewing the incident that they had opened fire at all, according to sources.
In a statement today, the Justice Department’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, said he has “jurisdiction to independently review allegations of FBI misconduct.”
I'm sure there's a certain ex- sheriff in Montana that would have an explanation for that.Mike said:And after he was dead they put the hand cuffs on him to keep him from causing trouble?
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Washington Post: Growing Concern About FBI Sniper Actions In Oregon Standoff
3-17-2016 | John Hayward
The two-month standoff between Oregon militia members and police came to a violent end in January, with the shooting of militia leader Robert “LaVoy” Finicum by Oregon state troopers. But now the Washington Post reports “new details have emerged” about the controversial conduct of FBI Hostage Rescue Team snipers.
The Post article portrays the current state of the investigation as considerably messier than readers casually following the story might have suspected. The FBI team has been accused of firing at Finicum’s truck, failing to report their shots as required, and actually taking steps to cover their tracks by collecting their spent shell casings: Last week, Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, who is overseeing the investigation, said he had concluded that “FBI HRT operators fired two shots as Mr. Finicum exited the truck, and one shot hit the truck.”
Nelson accused the agents of failing to “disclose their shots to our investigators.” The five FBI agents have denied firing assault rifles during the incident. But in a recently released interview, an Oregon State Police officer told investigators that he spotted two copper-colored rifle casings near the spot where the FBI agents were standing.
The Hostage Rescue Team has used copper- colored casings, former agents said; the Oregon state police use only silver-colored casings. The copper casings were never recovered.
Meanwhile, the Portland Oregonian reported Tuesday that FBI surveillance video taken after the shooting shows the agents searching the area with flashlights and huddling. One of them then bends over twice and appears to be picking up something. On Wednesday, a law enforcement official confirmed the video account.
If allegations of a coverup are determined to be true, the incident would be hugely embarrassing to the FBI and deal a devastating blow to the FBI team’s reputation.
iwannabeacowboy said:“I KNEW GOING INTO IT THAT THERE WAS A SHERIFF IN GRANT COUNTY THAT WAS SUPPORTING THE MOVEMENT, OR THE IDEOLOGY BEHIND WHAT THEY WERE PUSHING. I KNEW THAT THERE WAS A LARGE AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN GRANT COUNTY THAT SUPPORTED THEIR BELIEFS, AND THAT HAD SIMILAR CONSTITUTIONAL BELIEFS, AND TO THE POINT OF THE GRANT COUNTY MAKING IT CLEAR THEY ARE A UN FREE ZONE, AND SO THAT KNOWLEDGE WAS KNOWN TO ALL OF US.”
UN free zone? Wonder how or why that makes a difference in us territory?
Interesting stuff to be concerned of as a state trooper.
So far removed from the principles of the "Land of the Free". Sounds like a short history from any number of communist regimes.burnt said:So with that kind of an agenda, Lavoy Finicum won't be the last to be executed by those who are working toward fulfilling the UN mandate.
And the sheriff with whom he was wanting to meet doesn't stand much of a chance either as the federal machine steamrolls forward.
There will be a continuing sweep of all those involved in the Bundy/Nevada incident and the Burns County wildlife refuge standoff.
And they will make an example of them to put the fear into anyone else who might not agree with the agenda.
And don't expect Trump to take a different tack.