Witness: Insider helped police arrest Bundy group

Despite the release of an FBI video of the final moments of the life of Malheur occupier Lavoy Finicum, disputes remain within the movement over the manner in which he was killed. In the latest development, witness to the shooting Shawna Cox contends LaVoy Finicum was gunned down in cold blood by police snipers in a remote traffic stop, set up with police by the man driving the Jeep holding Ammond Bundy. Cox was arrested last week on a remote stretch of U.S. 395, along with refuge occupiers Ryan Bundy, Ryan Payne and 5 others. Rancher Lavoy Finicum was shot and killed by police after driving into a snowbank at a blockade. They were on their way to a publicly announced meeting in John Day, Ore. Mark McConnell, who was driving a Jeep holding Ammon Bundy, was not arrested. Cox was released from the Multnomah County jail late Friday night and was expected to leave for Utah Monday. She must wear a GPS bracelet and cannot leave home except for work, religious service, school or health care. She may not contact the other defendants. She spoke Saturday with Rick Koerber, who describes himself as a "liberty minded advocate for peace and prosperity" with a website called freecapitalist.com. Cox said she believes without a doubt that McConnell set them up for the arrests by working with the police. Few people knew that the core leadership of the group would be in two specific vehicles headed to John Day for a meeting with the Grant County sheriff, she said. The police stop was along a section of the remote highway where they lost cellular service, she said - the perfect ambush. She has seen the FBI video of the incident, but claims it does not reveal the truth of what happened. "Mark set us up. How come he's out and no one else is?" she said. "He was pushing us to all get together at the same time. They [the police] knew. They knew." She questioned why McConnell was never arrested and refuted a version of events he posted on Facebook soon after he was released. In it, he said Finicum rushed the police. A few days later, he posted a video again, apologizing for reaching his own conclusion based on the accounts of others. McConnell has not commented directly on Cox's accusations, but posted this on his Facebook page Sunday: "Folks here's something simple. Google the route from the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge to John Day, Oregon. There is one way there and one way back. The meeting was at 6pm and was public knowledge. Doesn't take a rock star to figure out when we would have been coming through."...more