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As It Happens

We speak to a militia member still holed up in Oregon compound

As tensions build at the Oregon standoff, militia member David Fry claims the government "murdered" the group's spokesperson Robert "Lavoy" Finicum and will "start killing everybody."
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Oregon militia member, David Fry (left). Law enforcement personnel block an access road to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, near Burns, Ore. (right). Authorities were restricting access on Wednesday to the Oregon refuge being occupied by an armed group after one of the occupiers was killed during a traffic stop and eight more, including the group's leader Ammon Bundy, were arrested. (YouTube/Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian/AP)
As It Happens3:12Latest on Oregon Ranchers

The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon has now become a tense standoff with a handful of armed protesters remaining inside.

Ammon Bundy, the militia leader, and a group of his cohorts have been arrested. One person died in the confrontation. Officials have yet to identify him, but many are saying it was the group's spokesperson, Ralph "Lavoy" Finicum.

Authorities have now cordoned off the refuge area.

In this Jan. 9, 2016 file photo, LaVoy Finicum, a rancher from Arizona, speaks to the media at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore. (Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press)


"We're not attacking anybody here. They're attacking us," David Fry tells As It Happens host Carol Off from inside the group's compound. "Our government is attacking its own patriots."

Fry is a member of the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. He claims that Finicum was "murdered," although no information about the circumstances of Tuesday night's shooting have been released.

"We were trying to fight the law through the Constitution," says Fry. "We've got so many points that they're actually breaking the law. They're getting away with it. And when we call them out, they come and kill us. That's what they're doing."

This interview was recorded at approximately 2pm ET on Wed. Jan. 27. For the latest on this developing story please go to CBC News.

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