The leader behind a month-long Oregon protest has called for those remaining demonstrators to leave the wildlife refuge and go home.
The request is in response to the death of fellow demonstrator, LaVoy Finicum, who was shot and killed by law enforcement Tuesday night.
Authorities say Fincicum was failing to surrender and that’s why he was shot, but a witness who has come forward on social media says that’s not what she saw.
“He got out of the car and he had his hands in the air and he’s like, 'Just shoot me then, just shoot me,' and they did, they shot him dead,” said Victoria Sharp.
Sharp said she was in the vehicle with Finicum when he was shot. Finicum family attorney, Todd Macfarlane, said the witness accounts contradict what law enforcement is saying.
"This wasn’t some kind of routine traffic stop; this was a planned ambush with over 40 vehicles," Macfarlane said. "We don't know how many people, they were out for blood."
Ammon Bundy, the leader of this movement, through his attorney, asked that all remaining demonstrators leave the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, saying, “We need to step back, somebody died yesterday.”
According to Macfarlane, the Finicum family, which has gathered in LaVoy’s hometown of Cane Beds, Arizona, said they had always known the demonstration was dangerous, and at one point even encouraged LaVoy to leave.
"They didn't want to believe it, but they knew there was some risk of that when LaVoy went up there and stayed up there," Macfarlane said.
