I am fairly certain this article from a little over a week into the refuge takeover was previously linked. But, assuming there are some others similar to myself, I don't take everything in all at once and I sometimes skip over things that I might not understand the importance of at the time I read or first learn of it.
With that said, while researching Wes Kjar (one of the arrestees) a day or two ago I happened upon the following article which I may have read before but now I know so much more and I am astounded to learn that Bundy and Payne were actively planning this whole thing as early as October of 2015! I knew they had been there in December but was not totally aware of the even earlier activities.
I think it's worth a reread especially in light of the defense request to try all the cases as one.
Oregon occupation planned for months by Ammon Bundy and Montana militia leader
By Carli Brosseau | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on January 11, 2016 at 4:46 PM, updated January 12, 2016 at 1:16 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/bundy_militia_leader_plotted_o.html
“It may have looked spontaneous, but the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge a week ago was part of a plan Ammon Bundy and a trusted associate developed largely in secret over the past two months.
Bundy, the son of controversial Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, and Ryan Payne, a militia leader from Montana, came to believe that an armed occupation was the only way to bring enough attention to a pair of local ranchers heading to prison and change the underlying problem: federal land ownership.
Even as a wider network of anti-government groups and community members rejected taking action stronger than holding a public rally, Bundy and Payne privately strategized an occupation they felt was necessary to spread their message.
The Oregonian/OregonLive conducted dozens of interviews with Bundy, Payne, their supporters and federal officials that show how the leaders worked parallel tracks. They encouraged local organizers to plan a peaceful rally to back the ranchers -- Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond -- while they scoped out potential sites for a takeover.”
Much, much more...
