PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) —Authorities arrested a man who was heard saying he wanted to join armed occupiers at a southeastern Oregon wildlife refuge and help kill federal agents.
Deputies and state troopers responded Monday to a store in Hines— a town 30 miles north of the refuge — after getting a report that Joseph Stetson made the threatening comments.
In a body-camera video released by police, the 54-year-old man tells a trooper he wants to protect the leaders of the occupation that started Jan. 2 at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He said if the authorities want to kill them, they'll have to kill him first.
The trooper smells alcohol and asks Stetson how much he's had to drink. Stetson later yells that he's going to kill his arresting officers.
The Woodburn, Oregon, resident was jailed on charges of drunken driving and resisting arrest.
Back in 2009, Stetson got into a standoff with deputies near Portland. The Oregonian reported at the time that he destroyed a mobile home during a rampage.
