KTLA

As Oregon Occupation Grows, Rancher and His Son Quietly Surrender in San Pedro

A group over armed protesters have taken over a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. The group is inside part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns after gathering outside for a demonstration supporting Dwight and Steven Hammond, father and son ranchers who were convicted of arson. (Credit: KTVZ)

As activists continued an armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge, the Oregon rancher and his son who helped inspire the protest quietly surrendered to prison authorities Monday in Southern California.

Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven Hammond, 46, were ordered back to prison when a judge decided they had not spent enough time behind bars for setting a pair of fires they said was intended to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires.

Karyn Gallen, niece of Dwight Hammond, was on hand when her relatives surrendered.

Gallen said the two had flown down from Oregon and spent time with relatives in Southern California before turning themselves in at the Terminal Island federal correctional facility in San Pedro.

Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.

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