Search Results - Cox, Shawna

Citizens for Constitutional Freedom

Citizens for Constitutional Freedom (C4CF), later also known as People for Constitutional Freedom (P4CF), was the name taken on January 4, 2016, by an armed private U.S. militia that occupied the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in the U.S. state of Oregon from January 2 to February 11, 2016. The leader of the organization was Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven D. Bundy, who engaged in a standoff with the federal government over grazing rights on federal land.

Eight of its members, including Ammon Bundy, were arrested on January 26, 2016 while a ninth member, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, was shot and killed by law enforcement officers. This was followed by a number of other arrests that eventually culminated in the end of the occupation. A total of 27 people were charged under federal law with a variety of offenses, including a single count of felony conspiracy. Their trials were scheduled to start on September 7, 2016, and February 14, 2017.

During the occupation, the militia group claimed that the United States Constitution allows the federal government of the United States to own only a small amount of land, and that the government can acquire land in states only with the state's consent. Such claims have been repeatedly rejected by federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court; the property clause of the United States Constitution grants plenary authority to Congress to manage federal property, including land. Provided by Wikipedia