FBI Monitoring Armed Standoff in Oregon National Wildlife Refuge

— -- The FBI has taken the lead in monitoring an armed standoff in Oregon where a group of militia members, along with some members of the family of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, are occupying a building on federal land at a national wildlife refuge.

The FBI is "working with the Harney County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation,” the agency said in a statement.

The militia members who occupied the wildlife refuge buildings set up a roadblock, and two armed members had manned a guard tower that is usually used to spot wildfires. But there was no sign of law enforcement in the area, and local police said they had no intention of going to the scene, not even to keep watch on the militia.

The Rally and Occupation

The protest began Saturday as a rally in support of Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond, who are to report to prison today for committing arson. The Hammond brothers left eastern Oregon early Sunday to report to Terminal Island in San Pedro, California, to serve their prison sentences.

The two men were convicted of setting fires on lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), "on which the Hammonds had grazing rights leased to them for their cattle operation," according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

"We all know the devastating effects that are caused by wildfires," Acting U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said. "Fires intentionally and illegally set on public lands, even those in a remote area, threaten property and residents and endanger firefighters called to battle the blaze."

After the rally for the Hammonds on Saturday, militia, along with sons of Cliven Bundy -- who was involved in a standoff with the government over grazing rights in Nevada in 2014 -- initiated the occupation of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Bundy's son Ammon claims the federally owned wildlife refuge in rural, eastern Oregon belongs to the people, and that they are "making a hard stand against ... overreach."

He said the government's "taking of people's land and resources" is leaving people in poverty, adding that the wildlife refuge "has been a tool in doing that."

Ryan Bundy and another of Ammon Bundy's brothers are also among the occupiers, according to The Associated Press.

Who Is Cliven Bundy and Why Is He So Controversial?

Ammon Bundy called the earlier rally successful, but said of the Wildlife Refuge standoff, "If we do not make a hard stand, we will be in a position where we won't be able to as a people."

He also asked for militia members to come help him.

Ammon Bundy says the group's actions are not aggressive and there is no damage or criminal activity.

He said the group's goal is to help local workers, including ranchers, miners and hunters, benefit from the land. The group wants to assert that the federal government does not have right to own or control land inside the state, Ammon Bundy said.

"We're prepared to be out here for as long as we need to be," he said in an eight-minute long Facebook video posted early Sunday morning.

The group does not have plans to occupy any other federal buildings, Ammon Bundy said Sunday.

The refuge is federal property managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was closed for the holiday weekend.