Arizona official ‘not at all surprised’ by rancher’s death in Oregon
A government official representing northwest Arizona said cattle rancher Robert "LaVoy" Finicum wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, given his contempt for grazing fees collected by the Bureau of Land Management.
"Oh yeah. That was his intent," Mohave County Supervisor Gary Watson said Wednesday. "I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that."
Watson said he does not question reports that Finicum was shot and killed by federal agents in Oregon Tuesday.
Federal authorities have confirmed one man was shot to death as agents moved to arrest some of the leaders of the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, but they've declined to identify the deceased.
Activists and family members say Finicum was killed. The 55-year-old rancher from tiny Cane Beds, Ariz., near the Utah border, was a spokesman for the occupiers at the refuge, and he also played an outspoken role in the 2014 standoff in Nevada between rancher Cliven Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management.
In an interview with The Oregonian newspaper, one of his daughters, Arianna Finicum Brown, described him as a quiet, caring, spiritual man who found his voice and his cause during the Bundy ranch standoff in Nevada.
"My dad knew he needed to stand up for what was right, to defend freedom," Brown told The Oregonian. "He was willing to die defending them."
Watson said Finicum did not believe ranchers on the Arizona Strip should have to pay fees to the BLM for grazing permits. He said it was clear that Finicum envisioned that protesters could gain martyr status and support for their movement in a confrontation with federal agents.
"That's what he wanted, and to tell you the truth I am not at all surprised that this is where it ended up," Watson said.
Watson said many of his fellow ranchers didn't share Finicum's views about grazing fees and the BLM. He said leaders in the local cattleman's association and some of Finicum's family members disagreed with his rebellious views.
Watson called Finicum's anti-government views extreme and not representative of the mainstream.
He said he warned Finicum that his actions would bring negative repercussions for his ranching neighbors and that President Barack Obama might simply take grazing opportunities away by giving more of northwestern Arizona national monument status.
