Last Oregon Protester Surrenders, Ending Standoff

The last member of a group of armed protesters who had taken over a wildlife refuge in rural Oregon surrendered peacefully Thursday, ending a 41-day standoff over what they said was the federal government infringing on personal and property rights.

David Fry, who had threatened to kill himself Thursday morning after three of his other fellow holdouts surrendered, gave himself up to a group that included FBI agents and evangelist Franklin Graham.

The four remaining protesters had previously said they would die or have their charges dropped but instead surrendered unarmed and without incident.

“So relieved this ordeal is over,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said on Twitter. “Many thanks to law enforcement who brought the Harney County occupation to a close.”

Fry spent Thursday morning rambling about UFOs, abortion, Obamacare and religion in an interview that was live-streamed over the internet.

Eventually, he agreed to surrender if FBI agents surrounding the compound said “Hallelujah.” They did, and he was put in handcuffs.

Fry was part of an initial group that in January, armed to the teeth, entered the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service property, in the dead of night. Led by Ammon Bundy, the self-proclaimed militia was protesting charges against ranchers who burned federal land to cover up an illegal deer slaughter and later refused to sell.

On January 27, several key members of the group, including Bundy, were arrested, and another person was killed in an FBI standoff.

Thursday morning, just four protestors remained, and all eventually surrendered peacefully.

A federal grand jury had indicted 16 of the protesters, including the four arrested Thursday, on one federal felony count of “conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats,” the FBI said in a press release.

“Much work is left to assess the crime scene and damage to the refuge and tribal artifacts,” Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney, District of Oregon, said in the release. “We are committed to seeing the job done and to pursue justice for the crimes committed during the illegal occupation.”

This is a breaking story. Refresh this story for updates as they become available.