With his hands in the air, yet defiance in his eyes, LaVoy Finicum was shot in the face and killed by federal agents yesterday.
LaVoy, along with several other protesters, had been occupying a federal wildlife refuge for the past four weeks.
Law enforcement has not released any other information other than “shots were fired” however several eye witnesses have come forward to detail what happened.
“It was an ambush” said Victoria Sharp who was on the scene.
She stated that “FBI snipers [were] in the trees” and disputes the government’s account that only six shots were fired. “They shot at least 120 shots altogether,” said Sharp.
Finicum’s daughter, Thara Tenney, explained what happened over Facebook:
- I want the world to know how my father was murdered today. His hands were in the air and he was shot in the face by the American authorities. Ammon Bundy reported there are 6 witnesses to this evil.
So what really went down?
Eyewitnesses told the media that the group was pulled over by authorities. The group stopped their car and put their hands through the open windows to show that they were unarmed.
Finicum asked the authorities to allow the women to leave the car.
Rather than permitting the request, law enforcement opened fire.
The driver of the car attempted to drive off and they were fired on again.
Finicum exited the vehicle with his hands up and told the government agents as he walked toward them, “just shoot me already.”
They did.
Finicum was shot in the face. After his body hit the ground, he was shot another three times, according to Sharp.
After the murder of LaVoy Finicum, authorities opened fire again on the vehicle as it was “bombarded with bullets” and tear gas.
Ryan Bundy, brother to Ammon Bundy, was also shot in the arm and is being treated.
While the government has not provided detail, Cliven Bundy, father to Ryan and Ammon, told the media that five were arrested.
Protesters remain in the wildlife refuge and law enforcement have now surrounded the remaining protesters.
Given that the government has drawn blood with the murder of LaVoy, it’s likely this will turn into a full out assault against those who remain, as with Waco and Ruby Ridge.
Requests for the video footage of the killing are being requested from the government.