Monday, January 25, 2016

Return Hammonds to ranch



It has now been 16 years since Kelli and I launched our crusade to educate the American public about who, how and where their food is produced. No one single attack from any group has set a rage inside of me like the one I witnessed in Burns, Oregon. I thought I had seen the best spinmeisters in the world but they could all take lessons from your federal government.
My infuriation grows because too many in our industry seem to care only about the image ranchers might be getting as a result of the occupation of a federal wildlife refuge by a small group of ranchers who are sick of being trampled on.

I spent hours with Susie Hammond, the wife of 73-year-old Dwight Hammond and mother of Steven Hammond. Dwight and Steven were resentenced to prison after completing their first sentences. Presiding Judge Hogan, who initially sentenced the ranchers, stated that a longer sentence “was cruel and unusual punishment for said crime.”

I have spent time in the past talking about the true injustice of this case so I will not go into that here except to say that the true crime in the Hammond situation is what the government is doing to this family because they want property the Hammonds own. If you think that is an exaggeration, then explain to me why would the government offer to drop all 22 charges if the Hammonds would simply sign over two-thirds of their ranch to the federal government?

How is it that the Department of Justice continues to put out information that in 2001, Steven Hammond’s hunting party poached deer and then set a fire to cover it up when that testimony was never presented in court because the claims were made by a source that was deemed not credible?

This father and son team did indeed light a fire that caused 127 acres of federal land to burn, but it was in the best interest of protecting the resources they were responsible for. Their back burn, which was approved with a telephone call to the BLM, prevented the loss of thousands of acres of private and public land. Don’t forget the Hammonds paid a $400,000 fine, which was equal to cost of fighting every single fire in the county last year.

Many are saying that this is much bigger than the Hammonds and the Bundys and I agree wholeheartedly. What I don’t understand is my friends in the agricultural community who are saying and doing nothing about this injustice. Is it because “that radical Ammon Bundy had to seize a federal wildlife refuge with guns”? What laws have Bundy and his group of occupiers broken?

Did you know that Ammon Bundy walked up the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, opened the door and walked in? It is a facility that is typically vacant all winter. He went in with friends and they stated they would occupy the facility until the Hammonds are released from prison and these public resources are managed by local control. They also stated, “If anyone comes to remove us, we will exercise our Second Amendment rights.” Folks, it was five days until the local sheriff returned Ammon Bundy’s call, and the feds have yet to reach out to seek a resolution, so what is the real agenda of the “lawmen”?

The town of Burns is obviously on edge but you need to know that the Bundy occupation is 30 miles from town. Instead of setting up headquarters in the multiple federal buildings outside of town, the FBI shut down the school, built a barricade around it and closed off several streets so they could hunker down there.

What I have personally witnessed on this trip is the worst side of our federal government that I could have ever imagined. Additionally, I am writing this because within days of reading this, thousands of the best cattlemen and cattlewomen will be gathering in San Diego, California, for the Cattle Industry Convention.

If this violation of basic American rights as food producers does not become the most discussed and most important issue of that gathering, then I suggest the next takeover will not be of federal property, but rather of an organization that has completely lost touch with what is most important to its members. If we can’t take a stand for each other, then what good is this organization?

Finally, I have received hundreds of inquiries in the past month from people who do actually want to do something. I realize that every person in every state has an issue that is top of mind as we all start our new legislative sessions, but I contend that what is currently happening in Harney County, Oregon, is happening in your state, too, and we need to get it fixed and retake state and local control.

While you can contribute to the Hammond family and their ongoing legal fees if you desire, Susie agrees with me that the best answer is contact anybody and everybody who will listen, from county supervisors to U.S. senators, and make sure they understand what happened to the Hammonds and don’t let up until those ranchers are returned home from federal prison.


Join me in signing this petition to get clemency for the Hammonds by going to this White House website before Jan. 27: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/commute-sentences-dwight-lincoln-hammond-jr-and-steven-dwight-hammond-both-harney-county-oregon.

Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at trentloos@gmail.com.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am supportive of the Hammonds. Its the Bundys I have a problem with. They are not the same.

"Did you know that Ammon Bundy walked up the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, opened the door and walked in?"
So the door was just sitting there unlocked while no one was at work?

"What laws have Bundy and his group of occupiers broken?"
Based on the anticipated answer to the above question you could probably start with breaking and entering. There are many more and I think you know it. Like unauthorized use of government equipment (vehicles, skid steer), destruction of government property (refuge fence, the locks they broke to gain access, the road they blazed), unauthorized use of government computers (I believe they have admitted to this) to name a few that we KNOW of. And there will be more that become evident once they leave.

Put a burka on their heads in place of the cowboy hats and you would be raising hell about terrorists.

The Hammonds may or may not be criminals. The Bundys certainly are.

Anonymous said...

If you consider brandishing enough weapons to start a small war (with clear threats of violence if police respond) and unlawfully overtaking public facilities as a suitable way to make a point or make demands, then God help us, Sir.

Anonymous said...

"It is a facility that is typically vacant all winter"

NOT TRUE.

"He went in with friends"

MANY OF WHOM HAVE QUESTIONABLE PASTS WITH FELONY CONVICTIONS, FALSE CLAIMS OF MILITARY SERVICE, AND OPENLY ESPOUSE RACIAL INTOLERANCE AND ARMED INSURRECTION. LIKE YOUR MAMA USED TO SAY, YOU ARE THE COMPANY THAT YOU KEEP....

"The town of Burns is obviously on edge but you need to know that the Bundy occupation is 30 miles from town"

BURNS WOULD NOT BE ON EDGE IF NOT FOR THE ARMED TAKEOVER AND ALL THE KOOKS WHO HAVE SHOWED UP.


YOU CAN BLOW ALL THE SMOKE YOU WANT, BUT YOU'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ANGELS TRYING TO DEFEND THE INDEFENDSABLE REGARDING THIS SITUATION.

Anonymous said...

How would your community react if a bunch of heavily-armed hayseeds from other states converged there, disturbed the peace, occupied a local landmark, harassed officials and regular folk alike, with an agenda that not only has zero legal merit, but ultimately, only harms the cause they protend to help? Think about it---

Anonymous said...

"This father and son team did indeed light a fire that caused 127 acres of federal land to burn, but it was in the best interest of protecting the resources they were responsible for"

A jury of Eastern Oregonians determined otherwise after being presented with all the facts and circumstances. Were you not aware of this?

"a $400,000 fine, which was equal to cost of fighting every single fire in the county last year"

How did you arrive at such conclusion? Last year, over 615,000 acres burned in Oregon and firefighting costs reached $240.5 million. Do you really think the firefighting costs for the biggest county in the state ONLY accounted for .001 of the total cost last year? Really?

"What I don’t understand is my friends in the agricultural community who are saying and doing nothing about this injustice"

Well, there's probably several reasons. For one, while many people in Harney County may disagree with the sentence, they know what actually happened in the first place: fires were intentionally set that put BLM firefighters (some being college kids from local ranches) in danger that also burned adjacent private land. The last thing they have time for are the opinions of outsiders who talk like they know what happened, but are only telling a skewed version of half the story.