Judge sentences Oregon refuge occupier Ryan Payne to over 3 years in prison

Ryan Payne, a pivotal "architect'' of the Oregon refuge occupation who used his military experience to lend credence to the takeover and help fortify the federal wildlife sanctuary in 2016, was sentenced Tuesday to three years and a month in prison. Payne was the most culpable of the defendants convicted in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and deserved a nearly three-and-a-half year prison term, Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Barrow argued. Such a sentence would send a message not only to him but to "the Patriot community'' that armed conflict with the federal government results in serious punishment, he said. In a three-page, handwritten apology to the court, Payne, 34, wrote of his complete humiliation, acceptance of responsibility, recognition of the court's authority, and his estrangement from friends, close family members and former U.S. army colleagues as a result of his actions. He described himself as the law's "meanest vagrant: a forever criminal, in the land I sought to defend.'' Payne, wearing standard blue jail scrubs, stood before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown and read from a prepared statement on lined yellow paper. He apologized, disavowed his past allegiance to militia and said his days of political activism are over. "My apology first to those whose lives were disrupted by my actions,'' Payne said, adding that he recognized the emotional distress he caused to federal employees who worked at the federal refuge and the residents of Harney County. "I would like to apologize generally to the American people,'' Payne continued. "My militia ties and former sentiments are severed. I accept the authority of this court. ... I am aware of the severity of my words and actions.''...more