SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The federal government has proposed awarding grazing allotments to an Oregon ranching family whose members were convicted of arson in a court battle that triggered the takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge by right-wing extremists.
The Dec. 31 action by the Bureau of Land Management in favor of Hammond Ranches angered environmental groups.
Steven Hammond, co-owner of the ranch, and his father, Dwight, were convicted of arson for setting fire to range land and sent to prison for mandatory five-year sentences, but President Trump pardoned the Hammonds in 2018, allowing them to be freed from federal prison.