Federal authorities arrested Ammon Bundy, the leader of a group of protesters occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, during a traffic stop Tuesday, a law enforcement official told CNN.
>> Armed protesters occupy Oregon federal building: 5 things to know
The FBI issued a news release on Tuesday night, confirming that one person died and multiple arrests were made near Malheur refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Bundy and his followers were reportedly heading to a community meeting at the senior center in John Day, a Grant County town about 70 miles north of Burns, to address local residents to discuss their views on federal management of public lands.
The Oregonian newspaper reported several hundred people had gathered at the John Day Senior Center on Tuesday evening and were told the "guest speakers" would not be appearing.
Key developments from FBI release:
Shots were fired after FBI agents and Oregon State Police "enacted action to bring into custody a number of individuals associated with the armed occupation."
One individual suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He was arrested and is currently in custody.
A total of five people were arrested.
The person who died was the center of a probable cause arrest.
Highway 395 at the intersection of US 20 north of Burns — not far from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge — closed in both directions.
In a statement, the FBI and Oregon State Police said agents had made eight arrests: Bundy, 40; his brother Ryan Bundy, 43; Brian Cavalier, 44; Shawna Cox, 59; and Ryan Payne, 32, during a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 395 Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said two others, Joseph Donald O'Shaughnessy, 45, and Peter Santilli, 50, were arrested in Burns and one man man, Jon Eric Ritzheimer, 32, turned himself in to authorities in Peroria, Arizona.
BREAKING: USMS: Ammon Bundy, 6 others to appear in federal court this afternoon. https://t.co/IDt3dPRsxt #KOIN6News pic.twitter.com/5Qjb32c3Gg
— Brent Weisberg (@BrentKOIN) January 27, 2016
Harney District Hospital was on lockdown.
BREAKING: Heavy law enforcement presence at Harney District Hospital in Burns. https://t.co/AcqRyOMOlx #KOIN6News pic.twitter.com/0DPBns5ors
— Brent Weisberg (@BrentKOIN) January 27, 2016
The FBI set up checkpoints around the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge after the deadly confrontation. Only local residents will be allowed access to the area, and must provide identification. Those leaving the refuge will also have to provide identification and their cars will be searched. "Non-compliant people will be subject to arrest," the FBI said in a statement.
About Ammon Bundy
Ammon Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada cattle rancher who made news in 2014 when protests erupted surrounding a 20-year cattle-grazing dispute with the federal government.
What to know about the occupation
Armed protestors have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since the beginning of January.
The occupation followed a protest of two local ranchers convicted of arson.
The militants, calling themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, came to the frozen high desert of eastern Oregon to decry what it calls onerous federal land restrictions and to object to the prison sentences of two local ranchers convicted of setting fires.
Specifically, the group wanted federal lands turned over to local authorities. The U.S. government controls about half of all land in the West.
The Malheur Wildlife Refuge is in a remote eastern corner of Oregon in Harney County. It is roughly 30 miles ofrom Burns, Oregon and over 300 miles from Portland.
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